Chandigarh, Sept. 21 -- The US decision to impose a massive $100,000 annual fee on the H-1B visa is poised to make it significantly more difficult for tech and other highly skilled professionals to work in the country.

This significant change to a programme long seen as a "golden ticket" for skilled workers from India is expected to cause a sharp decline in the number of IT professionals moving to the USA, with academicians in this region predicting major impacts on both companies and individuals.

The H-1B visa programme, introduced in the 1990s, allows companies in the US to hire foreign nationals for occupational posts that require high skills or a degree equivalent to a bachelor's. Changes in this programme are expected to have a neg...