The slowly dying American dream
In the Ameerpet of Haydarabad, the silence, which is often called ‘Ameerpet United States’, is deafening. The center of a software dream that once respected, triangular atrium is now wearing a deserted look. Colorful advertising boards promising six -digit salaries shine on empty sidewalks. Even the walls marked with stern warnings are indisputable in “Do not sit on the walls/ grids/ steps”. The hum of Samosa sellers, tea sellers, business consultants and laptop mechanics, once left the chaos of students and teachers, and turned into a grieving silence.
A heavy silence with fracture ambition. Ameerpet has developed a single fantasy for years: H-1B visa. However, on September 19, this fantasy collapsed. US President Donald Trump from the Oval Office in Washington signed a statement that shakes the foundations of Haydarabad’s software coaching economy. With new restrictions and a surprising $ 100,000 fee, the H-1B was once closed to the American Dream.
Fallout is now written on the faces of students such as Ush B., a newly printed B.Tech graduate from Geethanjali Engineering and Technology College, who is now learning Java Fullstack. “I just want a job. I dreamed of going to the United States when I was young.
Besides, two friends scan the promising signs after a trace of learning: in theory, two -month paid internships that cause salaries between La 3 Lakh and La 6 a year. But the figures tell their own stories. The salaries that once monthly salary checks dreamed of are now realized as annual income.
The mood in the rows of coaching centers is equally terrible. “All courses have less uprising and less rush because they are carried out online. But after Donald Trump became the US President, he disappeared, regardless of limited demand.
The fluctuation effects traveled quickly. On the Emirates flight from San Francisco to Dubai, a few anxious passengers left the news and delayed separation for three hours. In Boston, Indian students shifted on the phone screens and recalled what it means for their future, while the dormitory rooms were unable to believe.
The news shook Rohini Sharma, a 22 -year -old student in Boston. For months, he was looking forward to his winter holiday in December and left a small amount of money every week to book a trip to his hometown Haydarabad. His father had already started to plan a family trip. His youngest sister was waiting to go shopping. Rohini himself would go back into his mother’s kitchen and dream to ask for homemade food. After all this, with his family and three sisters, after a year for more than a year during the time periods and video chats.
That night, he planned to check the ticket prices after returning from his part -time work to his partner apartment. But the news warning on his phone hugged him. “At first I did not fully understand the results. But when I started reading the details, panic came in,” he remembers.
Like thousands of international students, Rohini on the F-1 visa in the US, which allows him to allow work for two years. Their hopes were fixed on the optional practical training (OPT), which enables international students to gain practical experience in their choice.
“For most people, Sept takes 12 months. But because I’m on a body [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] The program, I can apply for a 24 -month extension, I can give me a total of three years. Or
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However, the real difficulty comes after the opt is finished. In order to continue to live and work in the United States, students such as Rohini must secure an H-1B visa with a private professional visa for a long time for Indian capabilities. He already knew it was a lottery system; Qualifications and jobs did not guarantee success. But now, employers can hesitate with Trump’s announcement. “The cost is higher, the rules are more strict and the uncertainty is greater. Companies may prefer to hire people who do not need this visa. For us, this means that we have the chance to build a career here,” he says.
Doors are closing
US citizenship and immigration services have already officially made: “Congress for the 2026 fiscal year compulsory 65.000 H-1B visa normal limit and 20.000 H-1B visa to reach the USA to reach the advanced exemption.”
The numbers that once looked abstract now had heavy results. In 1998, the United States issued a visa to 25,292 Indians, a figure of around 25,000 years until 2018. Then Covid Crash arrived: in 2021, only 7,771 visa went. According to data from the US state department until 2024, he returned to 40,698.
Rohini was in the middle of the night while sitting at his desk at Boston, sliding wildly between explanants and news updates in the world in Haydarabad. When their parents woke up, news channels and websites already hum had buzzing with headlines about the announcement. His father quickly called his number, and his mother was worried nearby. They were waiting to discuss travel plans, lessons and gifts that they might want to bring home. Instead, he returned to the visa visa categories, legal subtle editions and the rules that really came into force.
At the end of the day, the family had changed the message of dozens of calls and WhatsApp, trying to understand not only Rohini’s emergency plans, but also a few other students.
In other corners of the country, questions about the investments made in education emerged. Srinath Redy (name has changed), a new BBA graduate from Haydarabad, was planning to go to the United States for MBA education after a few months.
“I have been in contact with consultants since the emergence of the H-1B announcement, and most of them continue to guarantee that there is no problem for students like us. They say that the new rules are directed towards employers and that they will not directly affect the F-1 visa. In other words, I will still be able to finish my masters and give me the chance to work for three years.
However, the optimism of Srinath has a warning. What concerns him is what comes next. “Even during the OPT in the USA, they say that companies may hesitate to hire because they know that being a sponsor of an H-1B visa comes with much higher costs. This uncertainty allows you to think twice about the investment you put in foreign education. It makes you feel that everything is still willing to take risks.
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Things are deleted
In the midst of uncertainty and fear, Ciberts, a Hydarabad -based technology company, specializing in cyber security and software solutions, comes to Venkat Madala. “With a H-1B visa, most of the work that needed people on the site has disappeared. Zaroorat Nahi Hai (not required). AI is doing most of the ordinary jobs that once required people on the site. Devops and Sysops bring automation at all levels, while many jobs are deleted in various layers. In this scenario, Trump’s decision only has a limited impact on India. The greater problem is unemployment, ”he says, how the IT industry is pummatia by Covid, the rise of process automation, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Madala, this did not happen overnight. “What a year of a senior programmer to do is to be done for a year is now to be done in five to seven minutes.
The user interface, user experience, front end, back end and even without technical expertise, which allows you to install applications without technical expertise, lists AI -guided tools such as cute, line and rocket. This disappearance is ironicly what Trump states when pushing the H-1B revision.
The numbers carry him. …… Among the university graduates aged 22 to 27, computer science and computer engineering departments are confronted with 6.1% and 7.5% of some of the highest unemployment rates in the United States, respectively – the latest data, latest data, and unemployment rates consisting of 1.98% from 1.98% among the workers in computer occupation.
Meanwhile, Ankit Jain, One Window Overseas Education Pvt. Ltd. offers a detailed perspective on the new regulation. The introduction of a $ 100,000 fee is uncomfortable for candidates who apply for H-1B or who are currently on. He explains that many companies may be reluctant to spend this kind of money on employees who are not considered indispensable and potentially affecting occupational safety.
However, Jain also points to a silver subordinate: new rules can push candidates to sharpen their skills and show their values to employers. “If you perform in an exceptional way, companies will not hesitate to protect you, because it is not worth saving to hire someone who does not contribute too much, or he says.
At the same time, he criticizes the presentation of the regulation as a hasty and lack of consultation and leaves students, employees, employers and educational institutions satisfied. Nevertheless, it accepts a broader intention: to prevent abuse by consultants and organizations that have previously employees working from the system to the US without real job roles.
“The idea is only to make real talents do it. It will seem like a bold movement at the beginning, but the long -term purpose is to make the system more effective and fair,” he is impressed.
Jain also emphasizes the need to protect the reputation of Indian students abroad. “Previously, there were situations in which several students abused the system that affected the perceptions of all Indian students. It is important that students represent themselves and their countries well,” he says.
I’m looking for other pastures
Jain warns panics and invites students to explore opportunities beyond the United States- Australia, England and France from Germany and Germany, both students and business-friendly environments. India’s Ambassador of India Philipp Ackermann even went to social media to make an analogy on September 23: “Our migration policy works a little like a German car. Trusted. Modern. It can be foreseen.
For thousands of young people watching Ameerpet’s coaching streets, which are roads to Amecon Valley, such promises from Europe may seem like a new American dream. Whether the students of Haydarabad calibrate their ambitions against Berlin, Dublin or Sydney, it becomes increasingly clear that H-1B is no longer a single staircase for success.
