Congress targets Modi as ‘weak PM’ over Trump’s $100,000 annual H-1B visa fee

The Congress on Saturday (September 20, 2025) cited the imposition of a $100,000 annual fee by U.S. President Donald Trump on H-1B visas for highly skilled workers to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing Mr. Modi of being a “weak PM”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on social media platform X, addressed Mr. Modi on the issue. “Indians are pained by the return gifts you have received after the birthday call. Birthday return gifts from your ‘Abki baar, Trump sarkar’ [this time, a Trump government] govt.!” Mr. Kharge said.

H-1B Visa LIVE

Highlighting the Trump administration’s recent moves, Mr. Kharge said the $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas would hit Indian tech workers the hardest. Estimated losses of ₹2.17 lakh crore across 10 sectors were anticipated because of the U.S. administration’s 50% tariff, and the Halting International Relocation of Employment (HIRE) Act targeting the outsourcing of Indian tech talent, the Congress leader said.

“Indian national interests are supreme. Bear hugs, hollow slogans, concerts, and getting people to chant ‘Modi, Modi’ is not foreign policy! Foreign policy is about safeguarding our national interests, keeping India first, and steering friendships with wisdom and balance. It cannot be reduced to superficial bravado that risks undermining our long-term standing,” Mr. Kharge said.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi highlighted reports, on social media platform X, that the H-1B visa fee hike would hit Indians hardest. “I repeat, India has a weak PM,” Mr. Gandhi said.

The Congress’s Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, in another X post, said the move would hit the future of the best and brightest minds from India.

“I still remember the boldness of former PM Manmohan Singh when one IFS [Indian Foreign Service] lady diplomat was insulted in the U.S. Now PM Modi’s preference for strategic silence and loud optics has become a liability for the national interest of India and her citizens,” Mr. Gogoi said.

His Lok Sabha colleague Manish Tewari said the U.S. was “deliberately turning the screws on India”, and the H-1B visa fee hike was no coincidence at all.

“If you look at it in context, the premature ceasefire announcement by the U.S. at the instigation of Pakistan; subsequently, the felicitation and the feting of the Pakistani Army chief in the White House; followed by the 50% tariffs which have been imposed by the U.S.; and even the Saudi-Pakistani defence partnership won’t have happened without the tacit support and blessing of the U.S. So, in a very systematic manner, for reasons which are inexplicable, the U.S. is deliberately being belligerent towards India, and it does not augur well for India-U.S. relations,” Mr. Tewari said.

Congress leader Pawan Khera tagged with media reports a 2017 post by Mr. Gandhi that the H-1B visa issue had not figured in the talks between Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi. “Eight years later, Rahul Gandhi is vindicated yet again,” Mr. Khera said.

“He called it out back in 2017 and nothing has changed. India is still stuck with a weak Prime Minister,” Mr. Khera added.

On Friday, Mr. Trump signed a proclamation that will raise the fee for H1-B visas to a staggering $100,000 annually, the latest move in the American administration’s efforts to crack down on immigration.