With the Trump administration adding a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applicants, Germany is looking to woo Indian workers who might be looking to pivot away from applying for work status in the U.S.

In a September 23 social media video from German ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann, he highlighted Germany's strong demand for skilled IT professionals, as well as its political stability, in a subtle dig against President Trump's aggressive approach to deportations, and his oft-chaotic foreign policy announcements.

“Our migration policy works a bit like a German car: it’s reliable, it’s modern and it is predictable,” Ackermann said in the video. “And you don’t have to fear a full brake at a top speed — we do not change our rules fundamentally overnight."

Read More: New H-1B Visa Fees Could Undercut U.S. Tech Edge

Roughly 124,000 Indians work in Germany, primarily in the computing, science and technology sectors. According to Ackermann, Indians working in Germany earn more on average than German citizens, as the country has focused on streamlining its visa program for skilled workers in order to fill critical gaps in its workforce. The German Institute of Economic Research estimates that the country had up to 387,000 unfilled tech sector jobs through March, and expects that number to double by 2027. 

In the U.S., Indians accounted for more than 70% of H-1B visa approvals in 2024, largely for tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Meta among others. Annual limits on H-1B visas have drawn widespread criticism in recent years, with the National Academy of Sciences pointing out that more than 55% of U.S. startups worth more than $1 billion have at least one immigrant founder, while immigrants have been awarded 40% of Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics since 2000.