Why do Indian professionals choose the UK instead of the US?
With the future of the H-1B visa in the US still uncertain, more highly-skilled professionals are looking at the UK as a backup plan without abandoning their American ambitions, according to Indian-origin immigration lawyer Yash Dubal.Dubal, CEO and director of London-based AY & J Solicitors, said his firm has seen a rise in inquiries from H-1B visa holders, especially Indian engineers and researchers who have spent years waiting for US green cards.“Most of our inquiries from the US come from Indian engineers and researchers, often in their 30s and on an H-1B visa. Their spouses are usually on an H-4 visa and have US-born children. They have been waiting for green cards for years.
“The Global Talent Visa is the first route they looked at where their professional history actually translates into a timeline,” Dubal told The American Bazaar.The increase in interest comes as uncertainty surrounding the H-1B program continues, including controversy over the proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee. Canada and Australia remain popular destinations for skilled immigrants, but immigration experts say the UK’s “Global Talent Visa” is emerging as another attractive option for professionals already working in the United States.
It was introduced in 2020 as part of Britain’s post-Brexit immigration system. The Global Talent Visa is aimed at people who are recognized as leaders or potential leaders in their fields, or those who can demonstrate exceptional talent or promise.Unlike the skilled worker visa, it is tied to the individual, not the employer. Applicants do not need a job offer or employer sponsorship, there is no minimum salary, and visa holders are free to change jobs, work as freelancers, do consulting work or start a business.Dubal believes the biggest attraction is the shorter path to permanent settlement compared to the long wait that many Indian professionals face in the US.“The April 2026 Visa circular set the date for India’s EB-2 program at July 2014, which means a fourteen-year wait for a green card,” he said. “The UK’s Global Talent Visa allows you to reach settlement in three years. It’s not an emotional decision any more. It’s a mathematical decision. And the clients I talk to in San Francisco and Seattle are doing the same math.”The Global Talent Visa covers a range of professions, including digital technology, engineering, academia, research, natural and medical sciences, humanities, social sciences and the arts. Applicants must first obtain approval from an authorized body in the UK before applying for a visa.According to immigration consultants, the path differs significantly from the H-1B visa. It is evidence-based rather than lottery-based, has no annual cap, and for eligible applicants can lead to settlement in the UK in as little as three years.Dubal said many skilled professionals wrongly assume they are not qualified.“Indian engineers who apply to us are often closer to qualifying than they assume. What I see now is that families are running parallel options. Indian H-1B visa holders are not abandoning the US plan. They are putting the UK plan alongside it, as a hedge. The choice between three years before settlement in the UK and another decade of uncertainty in the US becomes difficult to postpone once it is on the page.”He said more people are starting to look to the UK as uncertainty continues over the H-1B program, even after the court ruling on the proposed visa fees.“What changed in October? [2025] It is not politics alone. And the political volatility around the H-1B hasn’t stopped, even with the recent court ruling on the $100,000 fee. Indian professionals no longer treat uncertainty in the US as a temporary problem to wait out.
“They treat it as a feature of the system and act accordingly.”For many H-1B visa holders, especially Indian and Chinese citizens who face years of green card backlog, Dubal believes the decision is no longer about choosing one country over another. Instead, more families are pursuing the UK option while maintaining their long-term plans in the US.
