Washington, Oct 25: A latest study by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, has revealed that “Indian immigrants are the most economically beneficial immigrant group” in the US that reduces national debt and contributes to GDP growth.
The report, published by the Institute on Thursday, also revealed that an average Indian immigrant reduces the US “national debt by over $1.6 million over 30 years and increases GDP more than immigrants from any other country.”
By legal status, H-1B visa holders expand the GDP the most, with an average H-1B visa holder increasing it by $500,000 after 30 years while reducing the debt by $2.3 million, the study added.
Daniel Martino, the report’s author and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, termed South Asian immigrants, especially Indians, the “most fiscally positive group.”
He predicts that if the H-1B visa program is ended, it would expand the US debt by $185 billion over 10 years while shrinking the economy by $26 billion.
The report also recommends ending the H-1B lottery process and implementing a wage-based visa regime.
The report comes as the White House on Thursday vowed to fight lawsuits against the administration’s crackdown on H-1B visas.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The president’s main priority has always been to put American workers first. The administration will fight these lawsuits in court. We know for far too long, the H-1B visa system has been spammed with fraud, and that’s driven down American wages. So, the President wants to refine this system, which is part of the reason he implemented these new policies.”
Last week, the US Chamber of Commerce, the country’s biggest business organisation, sued the Trump administration over the new visa rules, calling it “unlawful.”
In a lawsuit filed in the district court in Washington, the plaintiff argued that the visa fee, if implemented, would “inflict significant harm on American businesses” and force them to “either dramatically increase their labour costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available.”
It added that Trump’s September 19 proclamation was “plainly unlawful” and a “boon to America’s economic rivals.”
It was the second major domestic legal challenge to new H-1B rules, after a group of unions, education professionals and religious bodies sued the Trump administration on October 3.
Earlier this week, the US Department of Homeland Security also issued new guidance on the $100,000 H-1B visa application fee, providing a series of exemptions and carveouts.
According to the new guidelines, workers who switch to H-1B visa status from other visa categories, such as F-1 student status, won’t be subjected to the $100,000 fee.
The proclamation only applies to new visa petitions who are outside the US and do not have a valid H-1B visa.
India-born workers received over 70 per cent of the total approved H1-B visas in 2024, primarily due to a huge backlog in approvals and a high number of skilled immigrants from India.