H-1B fee hike: Who’s gaining from these visas – Indian IT or US firms?

United States President Donald Trump connected Friday dramatically ramped up the application fee for companies hiring employees connected H-1B idiosyncratic visas, the main mechanics for firms to bring successful workers with specialised skills from astir the satellite successful fields ranging from exertion to teaching.

The increase, to $100,000 per application, is meant to deter companies from utilizing the programme to bring successful overseas workers astatine existent levels, amid a increasing and heated statement wrong the US connected immigration.

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However, the hike successful fees has besides led to confusion, acceptable disconnected worries implicit its effect connected the US tech sector, and raised questions astir who truly gained from H-1B visas, however that has changed implicit the years, and who mightiness suffer retired astir with the revised rules.

What has the Trump medication announced?

Through a proclamation that the US president signed, his medication decreed that starting 12:01am ET (04:01 GMT) connected Sunday, companies indispensable wage $100,000 per H-1B application.

The fees antecedently ranged from $2,000 to $5,000, based connected the size of the institution applying for the visa.

“The interest is simply a one-time interest connected submission of a caller H-1B petition,” the White House said, explaining Trump’s proclamation.

It added that the rules do not apply to radical who already clasp H-1B visas oregon those who submitted their applications earlier September 21.

Separately, the Department of Labor is updating prevailing wage rules to guarantee H-1B visas spell to lone highly qualified overseas workers, the White House said. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security volition prioritise high-skilled, higher-paid applicants successful the H-1B lottery implicit those earning less, it added, besides saying that different reforms to the H-1B visa strategy are nether consideration.

What’s the Trump administration’s rationale for the visa interest hike?

The H-1B visa was introduced arsenic portion of a bid of visa reforms that the US introduced successful 1990 nether President George HW Bush.

It lets companies prosecute overseas workers with specialised skills for up to six years successful the US.

But critics person agelong argued that it is misused by recruitment firms to bring successful workers astatine wages little than what companies would person to wage US employees, some scamming the strategy and astatine the aforesaid clip taking distant jobs that would person different gone to Americans.

The existent minimum yearly wage that companies are expected to wage H-1B visa recipients is $60,000, whereas critics reason that a US tech idiosyncratic would person $100,000 oregon much for the aforesaid job.

“If you’re going to bid somebody, you’re going to bid 1 of the caller graduates from 1 of the large universities crossed our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing successful radical to instrumentality our jobs,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said connected Friday.

Where bash astir H-1B visa holders travel from?

Indian tech workers represent the bulk of H-1B visa recipients.

In 2024, for instance, Indians received 71 percent of approved H-1B visas, followed by Chinese nationals successful 2nd spot with 11.7 percent, according to US authorities data.

The Filipinos were third, accounting for 1.3 percent of approved H-1B visas; Canadians were successful 4th place, accounting for 1.1 percent; and South Koreans were successful 5th place, accounting for 1 percent.

But erstwhile it comes to the companies really recruiting these workers and applying for visas connected their behalf, the representation becomes much analyzable and reflects a shifting pattern.

Which companies person received the astir H-1B visas historically?

Historically, Indian exertion companies person brought the astir employees holding H-1B visas to the US, taking the apical 4 spots betwixt 2009 and 2025.

According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, betwixt 2009 and June 30, 2025:

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an Indian multinational IT and consulting steadfast based successful Mumbai, received the astir H-1B visas: 98,259.
• Cognizant, calved successful India’s Chennai successful the 1990s but present a US company, is successful 2nd spot with 92,435 visas.
• Infosys, with its office successful India’s Bengaluru, comes next, with 87,654 visas.
• Wipro, besides based retired of Bengaluru, is successful 4th place, with 77,289 visas.

Yet a look astatine caller years suggests a alteration has been nether way.

Which companies person received the astir H-1B visas recently?

Between 2015 and 2025, TCS, Cognizant and Infosys remained successful the apical 3 spots, but the 4th and 5th places were taken implicit by US exertion giants Microsoft and Google, respectively.

Since 2020, the displacement has been much dramatic, with US tech institution Amazon topping the database (43,375), and Google (35,736) and Microsoft (35,356) taking the 4th and 5th spots.

Infosys (43,332 visas) and TCS (38,138) took the 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively.

Even much caller information points to a breakdown precise antithetic from what it was a decennary ago.

In the archetypal six months of 2025, TCS is the lone Indian institution successful the top-10 H-1B visa recipients, with 5,505 visas. Cognizant, with its Indian roots, comes successful astatine seventh place. Led by Amazon (10,044 visas), the remainder of the leaderboard successful presumption of H-1B visa recipients is dominated by the who’s who of US tech, banking, consulting and retail: Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Google, JP Morgan Chase, Walmart and Deloitte.

What is down this shift?

As scrutiny of the H-1B programme grew during Trump’s archetypal term, apical Indian companies which enlistee overseas endowment for US jobs began hiring much Americans.

During his archetypal term, Trump described the H-1B programme arsenic “very, precise bad” for American workers. A fewer months earlier his archetypal word ended successful 2020, helium temporarily banned H-1B visas, but the prohibition was overturned by a national court.

By January 2025, much than fractional of TCS workers successful the US were locally hired, institution CEO K Krithivasan told Indian quality transmission CNBC-TV18.

Still, Indian tech majors person continued to look questions implicit their hiring practices successful the US.

What allegations bash Indian tech firms look successful the US?

A erstwhile TCS worker sued the institution successful 2024, alleging that it had fired American workers successful favour of younger graduates oregon employees of Indian oregon South Asian root connected impermanent enactment visas. The suit accused the institution of violating national and authorities laws against favoritism — charges that TCS has denied.

The lawsuit was filed by Randy Devorin successful the Southern District Court of Florida and has since been transferred to the District of New Jersey. Devorin was terminated from his presumption successful September 2023. In May this year, District Judge Brian R Martinotti denied a question filed by TCS to dismiss some of the claims made against it.

The institution has antecedently besides faced akin allegations from different US employees.

But Indian firms are not the lone ones that person been accused of radical oregon taste favoritism successful hiring and firing practices.

On September 12, a class-action suit was filed successful a San Francisco national tribunal against Elon Musk’s electrical conveyance company, Tesla. The suit alleged that Tesla violates national civilian instrumentality to prosecute foreigners by “systematic preference” and to occurrence a disproportionate fig of US citizens.

The ailment stated that Tesla relies heavy connected H-1B visa holders for skilled labour. In 2024, Tesla reportedly hired astir 1,355 workers connected H-1B visas portion laying disconnected much than 6,000 employees, astir of whom were believed to beryllium US citizens.

Musk, who sat adjacent to Trump during the memorial of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk connected Sunday, has agelong been a proponent of H-1B visas. Originally from South Africa, Musk erstwhile held an H-1B visa earlier becoming a naturalised US citizen.

In 2024, helium wrote connected his X platform: “The crushed I’m successful America on with truthful galore captious radical who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of different companies that made America beardown is due to the fact that of H-1B.”

Have Trump’s positions connected the H-1B visa changed?

Yes, the US president has flip-flopped connected the visa programme.

After criticising it during his archetypal word successful office, helium offered a overmuch much glowing reappraisal of it successful December 2024. “I person galore H-1B visas connected my properties. I’ve been a believer successful H-1B. I person utilized it galore times,” helium told The New York Post, describing it arsenic a “great” programme.

Yet cardinal sections of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) governmental constituency person been progressively calling for H-1B visas to beryllium scrapped, oregon for the programme to beryllium dramatically overhauled.

On Friday, Trump appeared to person acted connected those calls.