The new US administration under President Donald Trump with a focus on Make America Great Again has triggered uncertainty among Indian tech workers who reportedly are not travelling out of the country in case a change in visa rules blocks their re-entry.

Despite the paranoia over immigration, discussions with tech entrepreneurs have shown that US-based tech companies are as hungry for tech talent as before because of a shrinking domestic pipeline, especially for specialised roles such as data scientists.

Asian-origin workers, both within the United States and from overseas, still figure prominently in these roles in the Silicon Valley, according to industry executives.

The trend begs the question: can the uncertainty over visa rules actually turn out to be a silver lining for Asian professionals?

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced earlier this month a US$3 billion investment in India’s cloud and AI infrastructure, while pledging to train 10 million people with AI skills by 2030.