India, June 10 -- Last year, US President Donald Trump sought to smother the H-1B visa programme by raising its application fees tenfold to $1,00,000 - more than the median wage for H-1B workers in 2024. As the biggest beneficiary of the programme, India stood to lose the most from Trump's decision. There have been allegations of H-1B misuse to the detriment of US workers. But it has played a critical role in attracting high-skilled workers to the US. This is exactly why Trump's decision was challenged in the US courts by both state governments and businesses. This week, a US court ruled Trump's enhanced H-1B visa fee illegal. The judgment draws on constitutional proceduralism rather than the overall merits of the H-1B programme. The enhanced fees are seen as a tax, which needs the Congress's ratification, and not just an executive diktat. This is very similar to what happened when courts ruled against Trump's tariffs as well. The ruling offers relief to both employees and employers under the visa programme. This is unambiguously good news. Whether the Trump administration appeals the ruling and gets its way remains to be seen. The Trump administration's political fortunes, rather than legal, seem more important at the moment. In less than six months, the US will hold crucial mid-term elections. These polls, ironically, will be held against the backdrop of the US being bogged down in a foreign war rather than pursuing Trump's isolationist agenda. Things such as effectively guillotining the H-1B programme were aimed at catering to the latter sentiment. Ultimately, it is politics which will decide whether Trump and US remain invested in championing globalisation or not....