The recent H-1B visa fee increases, combined with long-standing lottery uncertainty, have rattled India’s startup and tech workforce. With costs rising and dependence on a single employer still baked into the process, many founders and senior technologists are now asking whether the H-1B is still the smartest way to build a serious U.S. career.
In the middle of this shift, Beyond Border, a U.S. immigration firm focused exclusively on founders, technologists, and creative professionals, is seeing a clear trend in shifting to premium visa options to H1-B: more talent is moving away from employer-dependent visas like H-1B and toward extraordinary ability pathways such as O-1, EB-1A, EB-2, and L-1. These visas are not subject to lottery and the newly imposed fees, and can offer up to unlimited extensions to its recipients. “The fee hike didn’t create a new problem — it exposed an old one,” saidFrederick Ng, Co-Founder of Beyond Border. “For years, highly skilled people relied on the restrictive H-1B lottery because they didn’t know they had better options. The recent H1-B rulings are finally prompting India’s top talents to explore new options to move to the U.S.”
H1-B Alternatives for India’s Top Talent
In contrast to H1-B, recent data from USCIS and the U.S. The Department of State shows that O-1 visas have maintained consistently high approval rates, generally above 89–92% from 2016–2023, with O-1A petitions in sciences and business recording roughly 92% approval in FY2023. The O-1 approval rate has proven resilient in Trump’s second administration so far. Early analyses of FY2024 trends suggest O-1A approval rates moving closer to the ~94% range especially for well-prepared STEM and high-impact business profiles. At the same time, the O-1 is not subject to any annual cap, can be granted for up to three years initially, and can be extended indefinitely in one-year or multi-year increments, giving qualified applicants far more control over timing than the H-1B lottery.
Against that backdrop, Beyond Border reports a surge of interest in O-1A (Extraordinary Ability) and EB-1A among Indian founders and technologists preparing U.S. expansions or extending their careers in the U.S.
Technologist-Centric Approach To O-1 Visas
Unlike traditional,generalist law firms which are industry agnostic, Beyond Border’s model is tailored to founders, technologists, researchers, and creatives for this “high skilled” immigration pathways. The firm evaluates and builds narratives for its clients via tangible industry contributions including fundraising milestones, patents and other evidence to prove to the USCIS that the talent deserves a highly flexible long term visa in the U.S.
India’s Startup and Tech Boom Meets U.S. Immigration Reality
With India producing more funded startups, AI labs, deep-tech ventures, and globally competitive creatives than ever before, Beyond Border sees the H-1B fee hike as a catalyst rather than a dead end.
“India is the world’s driving force in innovation, entertainment technology,” Frederick added. “Founders, technologists, and artists should feel confident to explore extraordinary visa pathways that are way better options than H1-B.”
About Beyond Border
Beyond Border is a U.S.-based immigration firm helping founders, technologists, researchers, and creative professionals build long-term careers in the United States through evidence-driven O-1, EB-1, EB-2, and L-1 visa pathways. The firm combines venture-style thinking with legal rigor to deliver honest eligibility assessments, structured case strategies, and high-confidence filings for ambitious global talent. Frederick Ng andArnold Ip are the Co-Founders of Beyond Border. Together, they bring deep experience working with startup founders, senior technologists, and globally mobile professionals navigating complex U.S. immigration pathways with a long-term, career-first lens.
