US companies must pay $100,000 (Rs 88 lakh) per H-1B application. (Representative Image)

Amidst US President Donald Trump’s controversial crackdown on the H-1B visa, an old clip of Microsoft founder Bill Gates praising his Indian employees is gaining attention. In the video, Gates showers a group of Indian techies with glowing praise and appreciates their efforts in raising his company to new heights.

Microsoft head’s words and encouragement to Indian techies working in the US were widely appreciated on the Indian internet. He presented an alternative approach to Trump’s much-criticised ways after he announced a massive hike in H-1B visa fees to $100,000 (approximately, Rs 88,61,500).

Trump’s move originated from his nationalistic ideals and the “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) vision to provide Americans with more job opportunities by discouraging U.S.-based companies from hiring foreign nationals, regardless of their capabilities.

Bill Gates’ Old Video Praising 15 IIT Grads

The old video of Gates acknowledging the efforts of his Indian employees is from the speech the tech giant delivered at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi in February 2024. During his speech, Gates recalled the early days of Microsoft, when the company was looking to boost its staff and eyeing world-class engineering talent. A senior colleague then came up with an unconventional idea: hire 15 IIT graduates from India, who would put their heart and soul into work if provided an opportunity.

“In a sense, my first connection with India came because of the IITs,” Gates says in the clip. “One of the great people who worked for me said that he would go over to India and hire about 15 people who had been students at IIT and that would strengthen Microsoft’s engineering capabilities.”

“At the time, we had only a few hundred people, but even so, it was so hard to find amazing engineers. I thought that was a good idea. At the time, the Indian press said it was a terrible thing because all these great people (engineers) were leaving their country. The US press said it was a terrible thing (with) all these people coming to another country. But I think now, over 25 years later, we can say that was a phenomenal thing.”

Bill Gates’ Speech Amid Immigration Debates On H-1B

In the revisited portion of his speech, Gates emphasised the criticism that came Microsoft’s way from US-based news platforms, who decried his team’s decision to hire skilled Indian engineers over American graduates. But the Microsoft founder is now glad he went ahead with the idea and calls it a turning point for his company.

Gates’ approach comes in stark contrast with that of Trump and the existing American regime, posing a major hurdle now for US-based companies in hiring India’s graduates and future working professionals. The move spread widespread disappointment among India’s tech students, who were hoping to fulfil their dream of securing a high-paying job in the US.