Donald Trump’s decision to hike H-1B visa fees may have put the spotlight on India’s information technology (IT) services industry, but it has also delivered a twin blow to the gems and jewellery sector—which is not only reeling from tariffs but also has thousands of artisans and technicians working in the US on these work permits.
“Indian jewellers employ gemologists, metallurgists, quality control scientists, IT professionals on H-1B visa,” said Poorvi Chothani, Immigration attorney and managing partner, LawQuest. “The additional cost of $100,000 may also deter employers from engaging H-1B workers. The jewellers may just offshore the roles–they will get these jobs done overseas.”
Jewellers point out that for the last couple of decades, specialists from India who can gauge the quality of diamonds and precious stones, and market them, will now find it difficult to travel on the said visa. Of the 3,000 trading offices overseas, 300 are located in the US, many of them on 47th Street in New York—known as the Diamond District—and in Los Angeles.
At least 5-10% of their workforce employed from India and now in the US holds the H-1B visa, according to a prominent jeweller who did not want to be named.
The number of visas that the jewellery industry receives is tiny compared with that of the IT industry. But this is a second blow for the industry after Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods.
The US government can only approve 65,000 H-1B visas for companies, with 20,000 additional visas for foreign professionals who graduate with a master’s degree or doctorate from an American educational institute.
According to data by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, as of fiscal year 2025 (FY25), seven of the 10 largest users of H-1B visas are tech companies, including homegrown IT services companies Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., which cumulatively got 36,737 visas or more than half of the available permits.
Some Indian professionals on H-1B visas include gemologists with degrees in gem science and gemological engineering; 3-D model designers; material scientists specialized in precious metals, alloys, plating, and finishing processes; and data scientists who can recognize gemstone patterns.
“While the gems and jewellery industry could never get as many visas like the IT sector, we have over the years sent employees who are qualified artisans, product designers and lab technicians,” said Dinesh Lakhani, director of Kiran Gems. The firm is one of the largest manufacturers of diamonds and has its offices, trading and manufacturing units in Mumbai and Surat in India, the UAE and the US.
Mint reported in August that India cuts and polishes nine out of 10 of the world’s rough diamonds and employs 959,000 workers in Gujarat factories owned by diamantaires whose chief export destinations are the US, UAE, Hong Kong and Belgium. Last fiscal year, diamond exports alone stood at $13.26 billion, accounting for over two-fifths of total gems and jewellery exports of $29.9 billion.
“Some of the senior talent in the jewellery business is on H-1B visa and given the uncertainty on the visa fees, one may see some of the talent returning to India,” said Shaunak Parikh, director of diamond trader Mahendra Brothers Pvt. Ltd.
Trump’s visa fee hike “could indirectly influence jewellery demand by impacting the sizable Indian professional community in the US”, according to Kirit Bhansali, chairman of Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). “This community forms a strong consumer base for Indian jewellery, particularly during festive and wedding seasons. Any restrictions on their mobility or employment opportunities could, therefore, have a ripple effect on consumer sentiment and purchasing patterns.”
