US Green Card Curbs: Will Indian Techies Buy Homes in India?

The US has suspended eight major IT companies from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme.

Senior US officials announced the move on October 8. PERM is a key employer-sponsorship step towards Green Cards for skilled foreign workers. It is widely used by major technology and outsourcing firms.

This raises a key question. Will Indian professionals in the US bring dollar savings home to buy property? Or will uncertainty make NRI buyers wait until the situation becomes clearer?

Experts Expect Caution

Most real estate experts believe affected professionals will stay cautious for now. Those who return may buy homes.

But large-scale repatriation of dollar savings is unlikely. NRI purchases are also a small share of India's overall housing market.

Gulam Zia is International Partner at Knight Frank. He said investing in India may not make financial sense for someone earning in dollars, as currency movements could erode returns.

Aayush Puri is CEO of ANAROCK Channel Partners. He said the pause slows Green Card processing, not current visas. So few people will return immediately.

He added that NRI buyers will stay choosy. They will prefer ready or near-ready homes from credible developers in established micro-markets.

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Impact on Luxury Housing and Prices

Puri said returning professionals could add to luxury demand, but the impact is likely to be marginal and gradual.

According to ANAROCK Research, homes priced above Rs 1 crore made up 50 percent of residential sales in FY26.

Cities with large employment bases, such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR, could see any extra demand first.

Puri said the suspension is unlikely to affect prices in the near term. He said prices are driven by land and input costs and the shift to premium launches, not NRI inflows.

Average residential prices across the seven largest cities rose 7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2026.

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A More Optimistic View

Colliers India offered a more optimistic view. Vimal Nadar is national director and head of research at Colliers India.

He said repatriation and remittance inflows could rise in the near term.

He said luxury housing in southern cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kochi could get a boost. He expects sales enquiries to increase over the next few quarters.

Sandeep Reddy, co-founder of Zapkey, said uncertainty over permanent residency could push some professionals to direct savings into Indian property.

He said that when the path to a Green Card freezes, dollar savings naturally flow into homes back home.

Experts note the outcome depends on how the US restrictions evolve and whether professionals choose to relocate or keep working in the US.

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