As the new H-1B visa fees puts the movement of Indians to the US in the spotlight, official US data show that the number of Indians travelling to the US for business, leisure and education, has seen a significant drop in recent months.
According to data from the US National Travel and Tourism Office, 1,554,020 Indians visited the US in the period of January-August 2025, down 4.3 per cent when compared to the same eight-month period last year. These include individuals who have travelled on employment, leisure and education visas, and have stayed for at least one night and not more than a year.
The drop was particularly pronounced in the months of June, July and August 2025, with the number of Indian travellers arriving going down 8.1 per cent, 5.5 per cent and 14.8 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
In 2024, India ranked fourth in the list of countries with the most foreign arrivals to the US, with 2.19 million visitors, behind Canada (20.2 million), Mexico (16.9 million) and the UK (4 million). Indian visitors accounted for 3 per cent of the 72.3 million foreign visitors in the US.
Multiple factors
Hari Ganapathy, co-founder of Pickyourtrail, says that there are multiple factors at play, including visa fee hikes, longer processing times, and the overall higher cost of travel to the US, which have created friction.
“On top of this, global uncertainties from tariffs to wider geopolitical tensions are making travellers more cautious, contributing to the 8-15 per cent decline in Indian arrivals over the June-August period,” he added.
In July 2025, the US government announced a tariff of 25 per cent on Indian imports, which was then further increased to 50 per cent in the following weeks. A diplomatic standoff ensued and tensions also rose with US President Donald Trump’s social media posts.
Meanwhile, the number of visitors from other highly-tariffed nations like China and Brazil showed varied trends. The number of Chinese visitors from January to August 2025 decreased by 2 per cent compared to the same period last year. However, Brazilian visitors’ count went up by 3.6 per cent in the same period.
Stricter interviews
Rikant Pittie, co-founder and CEO of EaseMyTrip, said that visa procedures have now become more structured, with longer wait times and stricter interviews.
Alongside these operational factors, Pitte added that increasingly travellers are exploring a wider range of destinations.
“Alternative destinations such as Canada, Australia, the UK, Europe, Japan and Singapore have become more popular among Indian travellers, indicating that both accessibility and cost pressures in the US, alongside growing interest in alternative destinations, are shaping travel decisions.”
Ganapathy mentions that in the short term, demand for the US will hold steady, with family visits, education, and aspirational trips ensuring that Indians continue to visit.
“However, if higher costs and processing delays persist, we could see a more sustained softening in leisure travel. If these headwinds continue, the current dip could well deepen in the coming seasons,” he added.
Published on September 24, 2025