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Latest immigration reforms in the US, such as a sharp hike to H-1B visa fees, have motivated Indian leaders to woo talented expatriates to come back and contribute to nation-building.

A high-ranking official working with the PM pointed out that the administration is prioritizing bringing back NRIs. Additionally, another economic advisor suggested that American immigration policies have traditionally served the host country, and the recent hike could possibly benefit India in drawing international professionals.

The central argument is that now is the time for India to engineer a professional homecoming and attract world-class experts in IT, research, and various innovative industries who emigrated from the country over the last several years.

Anecdotal evidence indicate that a more restrictive visa environment in the United States is leading some professionals to consider moving back. But, analysts warn that convincing many individuals to depart US locations for Bengaluru will be difficult.

A former expatriate is among the small group of expatriates who, after a long stint in the United States, took a leap of faith and relocated to India's Silicon Valley last year.

The choice wasn't easy. He quit a lucrative position at the tech company to explore the risky sector of entrepreneurship.

"I frequently aimed to start something of my own, but my immigration status in the America limited that opportunity," he explained.

Since coming back, he has launched a couple of businesses, one being a platform called B2I that helps other expatriates based in the United States "manage the emotional, financial, and professional challenges of returning home."

He noted that recent shifts in US immigration policy have led to a sharp surge in enquiries from professionals looking to return, and the visa controversy could accelerate this shift.

"A lot of workers now realize that a green card may never come, and requests to the platform have surged – roughly tripling following the new administration commenced. In just the last six months, more than two hundred non-resident Indians have contacted us to explore coming back," he commented.

Other recruiters who focus on Indian talent from American colleges support this shift in attitude.

"The number of graduates from Ivy League universities aiming to return to India post their degrees has grown by a significant percentage lately," a headhunter stated.

She added that the volatility is also making experienced professionals "think harder their professional paths in the US."

"While a lot are still based there, we see a significant rise in executive and top professionals considering India as a viable option," she added.

This change in attitudes could strengthened by a significant expansion in Global Capability Centres – or international units of global firms in India – that have opened up promising job prospects for expatriates.

Such GCCs could become alternatives for those from the tech industry if the America restricts entry, making GCCs "highly desirable to professionals, particularly as overseas postings decrease," based on an asset manager.

However facilitating reverse migration on a large level will demand a coordinated and dedicated effort by the administration, and such efforts are absent, explains a former consultant to a former PM and writer on professional emigration.

"Leaders will have to actively pursue and actually pinpoint individuals – such as leading academics, workers, and innovators – it aims to attract. That requires work, and it must come straight from the top," he emphasized.

He noted that this method was adopted by India's first prime minister in the past to bring back leading experts in areas like space and advanced research and establish organizations like the renowned Indian Institute of Science.

"Those individuals were motivated by a powerful nationalism. Is there the reason to relocate now?" he wondered.

On the contrary, there are various pull and push factors that have led to skilled individuals continuously exiting the homeland, he explained, and India has encouraged this trend, rather than reversing it.

The pull factors comprise a growing range of destinations offering citizenship schemes and long-term stays through entry policies.

Indeed, as the America strengthened its immigration system, nations {such as