Since the onset of the Trump administration 2.0, living in the United States for Indians has become increasingly challenging. Policy decisions such as hiking the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, along with racial slurs and discrimination online and in person, have created a difficult environment. President Donald Trump himself referred to the country as a "hellhole" in a controversial Truth Social post. Despite claims that America does not need India, research and surveys indicate otherwise.
Forbes List of Greatest Living Immigrants
As America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, Forbes released a list of the 250 greatest living immigrants in America. Among the 250 individuals featured, 27 are of Indian origin, who have significantly contributed to America's economic and cultural growth. The list includes business leaders, entrepreneurs, academics, investors, philanthropists, and media personalities who have played important roles in shaping modern America.
Notable Indian-Origin Leaders
- Sundar Pichai - CEO of Google
- Satya Nadella - CEO of Microsoft
- Sanjay Mehrotra - CEO of Micron
- Jay Chaudhry - CEO of Zscaler
- Vinod Khosla - Co-founder of Sun Microsystems
- Naval Ravikant - Entrepreneur and investor
- Abhijit Banerjee - Nobel laureate economist
- Padma Lakshmi - Author and television host
- Indra Nooyi - Former CEO of PepsiCo
- Neerja Sethi - Co-founder of Syntel
- Hemant Taneja - CEO of General Catalyst
- Romesh T. Wadhwani - Founder of Symphony Technology Group
- Kavitark Ram Shriram - Early Google investor
- Jyoti Bansal - Founder of AppDynamics
- Neha Narkhede - Co-founder of Confluent
- David Paul - Co-founder of Apptio
- Jitendra Mohan - CEO of BrowserStack
- Nikesh Arora - CEO of Palo Alto Networks
- Shyam Sankar - CTO of Palantir
- Raj Sardana - CEO of Innova Solutions
- Aman Narang - Co-founder of Toast
- Arvind Krishna - CEO of IBM
- Shantanu Narayen - CEO of Adobe
- K.R. Sridhar - CEO of Bloom Energy
- Premal Shah - Co-founder of Kiva
- Rakesh Gangwal - Co-founder of IndiGo
- Rajiv Jain - Founder of GQG Partners
From technology to healthcare, finance to renewable energy, Indian-origin leaders excel in every sector where America leads.
Immigrant Contributions to US Startups
According to a report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), immigrants have founded or co-founded 455 of America's 775 privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more. Indian entrepreneurs are the largest immigrant group behind America's billion-dollar startup ecosystem, having founded or co-founded 96 US unicorns. Stuart Anderson, executive director of NFAP, stated, "The research indicates that more open immigration policies will produce more startup companies in America, including cutting-edge companies that transform industries and employ many Americans. On the other hand, immigration restrictions could threaten America's technological leadership and competitiveness."
The study also identified 15 immigrant entrepreneurs who have founded multiple billion-dollar companies in the US, including Mohit Aron, Jyoti Bansal, Ashutosh Garg, Ajeet Singh, and Sachin Nayyar.
Immigration Debate and H-1B Visas
These findings come amid intense debate over US immigration policies. H-1B visas, employment-based green cards, and pathways that have helped thousands of Indians build companies and careers in America have been largely blocked. Regardless of the rhetoric from Trump and far-right MAGA extremists, America's growing sectors need Indian talent to drive innovation and economic growth.
