71% of H-1B approvals go to Indians, now visa officers are asking, 'Why can't Americans do the job'

A single question is increasingly defining the outcome of H-1B visa interviews across the United States, and many applicants are not prepared for it. "Why can't an American do this instead of you?"

According to a report by The American Bazaar, immigration attorneys say the question is appearing with growing frequency and reflects a deliberate return to the "Buy American, Hire American" philosophy that shaped the first Trump administration. The trend is hitting hardest in technology, IT contracting and consulting sectors where Indian professionals account for the overwhelming majority of H-1B holders.

What attorneys are seeing

James Hollis, a business immigration attorney at McEntee Law Group, told The American Bazaar that the shift is unmistakable. "There are questions that I see coming up more and more as I debrief clients about visa refusals, and these questions recall the 'Buy American and Hire American' executive order from the prior Trump Administration," he said.

Most H-1B applicants arrive at interviews well prepared to discuss their qualifications, technical expertise and education. Few, however, have thought carefully about how to explain why their specific role cannot be filled by an American worker, a question that is now apparently decisive in many cases.

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Hollis said preparation is no longer optional. "(Attorneys should) prep their clients to explain what is so special about their work before the interview so that they are ready to defend themselves if this question comes up." He advised applicants "to have them identify the knowledge, experience, and connections that they have that a US worker would not have."

His longer-term advice was equally sobering. "But also try to limit the number of interviews these types of applicants are doing in the next 3 years. The system is overcorrecting, and if you can avoid your client being caught up in it, all the better."

Indians and Chinese nationals face tighter standards

The heightened scrutiny is not uniform across all applicants. Hollis was specific about where the pressure is concentrated. "The adjudication standards appear to be tightening for Indian and Chinese nationals in general. Specifically, I am always going to be most concerned with L-1Bs and H-1Bs for IT contracting companies and for large consulting companies."

For workers at consulting firms and IT services companies, the outcome of a visa interview may depend on factors beyond their individual control, including how many applicants from the same company are being processed and what salaries are on offer. "In some cases, there is not going to be much that an applicant can do on their own because part of the analysis is going to be the number of applicants of that type from the company, the salary for the role, and other details that they likely don't have control over," Hollis said. "There will be guidance in the background at the consulates telling them what in particular to more highly scrutinise."

Can Americans actually do these jobs?

The question at the heart of the interviews reflects a long-running debate about the H-1B programme itself. Critics within Trump's political base argue that some employers use the visa system to hire cheaper foreign labour in place of qualified Americans. Supporters point to genuine and persistent skills shortages in high-demand technical fields.

Dallas-based software entrepreneur Kishore Khandavalli, who began his own US career on an H-1B visa, made the case to CBS News from the employer's perspective. Now running a software consulting company where nearly half of his 380 employees hold H-1B visas, he described a structural mismatch between available talent and market need. "There's a skills gap between the people that are available in the market, the 3%, and the skills that the market is needing," he said. "Especially with the upcoming technologies."

The numbers behind the debate

The scale of Indian participation in the H-1B programme makes the current environment particularly consequential. According to USCIS data, 399,395 H-1B petitions were approved in fiscal year 2024. India-born beneficiaries received 283,397 of those approvals, representing 71% of the total. Computer-related occupations accounted for 64% of all approvals, approximately 255,000 workers.

H-1B workers are also well compensated by any measure. USCIS data shows median compensation reached $120,000 in FY2024, rising to around $135,000 for computer-related roles. Research has linked higher H-1B admissions to increased innovation and patenting, with limited evidence of widespread displacement of native-born workers.