Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, is planning a major expansion in India as it responds to tightening immigration rules in the United States under President Donald Trump. The move is being seen as a strategic shift to manage the impact of strict restrictions on the H-1B visa program, which has long been used by large technology companies to hire skilled foreign workers, especially from India and China.

According to a Bloomberg report, Alphabet has secured 2.4 million square feet of office space in Bengaluru’s Whitefield tech corridor, specifically at Alembic City. This expansion includes leasing one office tower that is expected to open for employees in the coming months. In addition, the company has taken purchasing options on two more towers that are likely to be completed next year.

An Alphabet spokesperson confirmed the size of the leased space, stating that “the company has leased 650,000 square feet of office space.”

The report explains that purchasing options mean Alphabet will have the exclusive right to purchase the properties once construction is completed. However, the company is not obligated to buy them and can choose not to proceed with the purchase.

If Alphabet fully utilises the new office facilities, they could accommodate up to 20,000 additional staff members. This would potentially more than double Alphabet’s current workforce in India. At present, the company employs around 14,000 people in India, out of its global workforce of approximately 190,000 employees.

The expansion is directly linked to the U.S. government’s overhaul of the H-1B visa program under President Trump. Last year, the Trump administration sharply increased application fees for new H-1B visas to $100,000, a massive rise from the earlier range of $2,000 to $5,000. The goal of this move was to prioritise American workers and limit what Trump has repeatedly described as abuse of the visa system by foreign outsourcing companies.

Alphabet is among the top sponsors of H-1B visas and has traditionally depended on the program to hire professionals for key roles, particularly in engineering and artificial intelligence. A significant share of its engineers has historically come from India. With increased scrutiny, high fees, and the possibility of taxes on outsourced work, companies are now accelerating the relocation of skilled jobs to countries such as India, where talent is widely available and operational costs are comparatively lower.

This expansion comes just a year after Alphabet opened its largest campus in Bengaluru called Ananta. Alphabet is not alone in following this strategy. The report notes that AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic PBC, the maker of Claude, have also recently opened offices in India. Other major technology firms such as Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and several others are also expanding their presence in the country at a fast pace.

Alphabet and other companies see India as a strong alternative not only to reduce visa-related disruptions, but also to benefit from India’s fast-growing digital economy. The report highlights that India is the world’s most populous nation and has one of the largest pools of skilled technology talent. It also points out that the country has more than 1 billion mobile device users, supported by affordable internet services.

Another Bloomberg report published last month stated that the U.S. is losing top tech talent to India due to Trump’s visa restrictions. It noted that if the policies lead Indian tech professionals to leave the U.S. or discourage them from moving there, India will gain the advantage — and that shift is already taking place.

According to LinkedIn data mentioned in the report, the number of tech professionals changing their location to India increased by 40% in the third quarter of 2025.

Meanwhile, India’s role as a global hub for technology operations is expected to grow further. A joint report by FICCI and ANAROCK projected that India could host over 2,400 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) by 2030. These centres are expected to employ more than 2.8 million professionals, compared to the current level of 1,700 GCCs employing 1.9 million people.

Overall, Alphabet’s planned expansion reflects how stricter visa rules in the U.S. are influencing global tech companies to move more jobs and operations to India, strengthening the country’s position as a major global destination for high-skilled work.