A social media post by former Meta engineer and tech entrepreneur Zach Wilson has triggered a heated debate online after he celebrated a federal court decision striking down the proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee and praised the growing pool of engineering talent in India.
Wilson, who teaches data engineering and founded a tech education platform, shared his views on X, saying the visa fee had made it increasingly difficult for skilled foreign workers, particularly Indians, to pursue opportunities in the United States.
"The $100k H-1B visa fee was just struck down by a federal court," Wilson wrote. He added that over the past six months, he had found it "depressing" to tell Indian students seeking data engineering jobs in the US that their prospects had diminished due to immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
Wilson said the restrictions were one of the reasons he travelled to Bengaluru and Hyderabad this year. "If we can't bring the brains to America, the brains will continue building amazing things in India," he wrote, praising the entrepreneurs and engineers he met during his visit. According to Wilson, the rise of India's technology ecosystem shows that "the world is balancing out."
The entrepreneur also hailed the court ruling as proof that America still possesses the "checks and balances" needed to remain a country driven by immigrants and innovation. "Today is one of the few days in a very long time that I say I'm proud to be an American and that my government is doing something right," he wrote.
