By News18

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The H-1B visa update has left many foreign workers and employers on edge. The employers will now have to pay a $100,000 (around Rs 88 lakh) fee for each H1B visa worker they hire. The move, announced by President Donald Trump, only to new, prospective petitions that have not yet been filed.
It has sparked questions about the future of skilled migration. Amid this, a post has surfaced online that questions whether migrants are truly the ones driving a nation’s growth.
‘Migrants Didn’t Make America Great’
Shared on X (formerly Twitter), the post draws a parallel between America and Bengaluru to question the common narrative about migration and its contribution to the economy.
“Migrants didn’t make America great. America was already great, which is why migrants moved there in search of a better life. Migrants didn’t make Bengaluru great. Bengaluru was already great, which is why migrants moved there in search of a better life,” the X user wrote.
See The Post Here

Migrants didn’t make America great. America was already great, which is why migrants moved there in search of a better life.
Migrants didn’t make Bengaluru great. Bengaluru was already great, which is why migrants moved there in search of a better life.
— Amarnath Shivashankar (@Amara_Bengaluru) September 22, 2025

What Are People Saying Online
The post has drawn significant attention online as users rushed to the comment sections to voice their perspectives with many defending the role of migrants in sustaining growth.
One user commented, “America was great, but legal immigrants maintained its greatness and didn’t let it decline. Without legal immigration, the US wouldn’t be a global player in technology today. They saved US from stagnation.”
Another highlighted, “And now, after 150 years, look at the America we see today — built by immigrants and diversity. Development thrives on openness, not stubbornness.”
“This much delusion is not good for living. Bengaluru and Silicon Valley will collapse if the so-called migrants leave,” someone remarked.
A person pointed out, “Migration has been going on for centuries. The only place you can claim yours, that too wrongly, would be the womb.”
“Without migrants, America is just land — innovation disappears with them. Without migrants, Bengaluru is just a climate — IT vanishes with them. Of course, traffic and mosquitoes were thriving long before IT folks showed up,” an individual shared.
Michio Kaku On H-1B Visa Impact
Amid the debates over the H1B visa hike, an old video of physicist Michio Kaku has recently resurfaced online. In it, he pointed out that about half of PhD candidates in US are foreign-born and that H-1B visa holders have helped build industries like Silicon Valley.
He warned that limiting these visas could push talent to return to countries like India and China, which could weaken US economy. He also said that these workers don’t “take jobs from Americans” but help create new industries.