According to a recent report, “Indian immigrants are the most economically beneficial immigrant group” in the US, contributing to GDP growth and lowering the national debt.

An average Indian immigrant lowers the US “national debt by over $1.6 million over 30 years and increases GDP more than immigrants from any other country,” according to the Institute’s analysis, which was released on Thursday.

The study also found that H-1B visa holders increase GDP the highest by legal status, with an average H-1B visa holder lowering debt by $2.3 million and increasing GDP by $500,000 after 30 years.

The Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow and report’s author, Daniel Martino, referred to South Asian immigrants—particularly Indians—as the “most fiscally positive group.”

He estimates that ending the H-1B visa program would result in a $26 billion economic decline and a $185 billion increase in the US debt over a ten-year period.

The paper also suggests instituting a wage-based visa system and discontinuing the H-1B lottery.

The report was released on Thursday, the same day the White House pledged to defend the administration’s assault on H-1B visas in court.

Prioritizing American workers has always been the president’s top focus, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. These lawsuits will be contested in court by the administration. We are aware that the H-1B visa system has been overrun with fraudulent applications for far too long, which has reduced American salaries. Therefore, the President put these new policies into place in part because he wants to improve this system.

The largest business group in the nation, the US Chamber of Commerce, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last week, claiming that the new visa regulations were “illegal.”

The plaintiff claimed that if the visa fee were to be imposed, it would “inflict significant harm on American businesses” and compel them to “either drastically increase their labor costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available.” The lawsuit was filed in the Washington district court.

Trump’s September 19 declaration was also described as “blatantly illegal” and a “boon to America’s economic rivals.”

Following a lawsuit against the Trump administration on October 3 by a combination of unions, educators, and religious organizations, it was the second significant domestic legal challenge to the new H-1B regulations.

Additionally, the US Department of Homeland Security released new guidance earlier this week that included a number of exemptions and carveouts regarding the $100,000 H-1B visa application fee.

The new rules state that employees who transfer from another visa category, like F-1 student status, to H-1B visa status would not be charged the $100,000 cost.

Only new visa petitioners who are not in the United States and do not currently possess a valid H-1B visa are covered by the proclamation.

Over 70% of all H1-B visas granted in 2024 went to workers who were born in India, mostly as a result of a significant backlog in applications and a large number of highly qualified Indian immigrants.