H-1B visas row: Indian IT firms less dependent on immigrants, shows data

With US officials calling the H-1B programme a "scam", former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai said Indian IT firms now rely less on the visa, with American tech giants among the top applicants

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With a storm brewing over the non-immigrant H-1B visa, industry veteran and former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai said on Thursday that Indian IT firms’ reliance on the visa had reduced considerably over the years. Speaking to news agency PTI, Pai pointed out that recent data showed many leading American tech companies were now among the top applicants.

 

His remarks came a day after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis launched scathing attacks on the visa programme, describing it as a “scam”.

 

“The current H-1B visa system is a scam that lets foreign workers fill American job opportunities. Hiring American workers should be the priority of all great American businesses. Now is the time to hire American,” Lutnick wrote in a social media post this week.

 

What the H-1B visa allows

 

The USCIS describes the H-1B programme as a route for US employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in roles requiring “theoretical and practical application of highly-specialised knowledge” along with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent.

 

The visa was introduced under the Immigration Act, 1990, after lobbying from business groups such as the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Foreign Trade Council. These groups argued that employers needed the option of hiring skilled workers from abroad when suitable talent was unavailable locally. 

 

Who is using the programme today

 

Latest data from USCIS shows that for financial year 2025, Amazon topped the list of H-1B approvals at 10,044. Other names in the top ten included:

 

TCS – 5,505

Microsoft – 5,189

Meta – 5,123

Apple – 4,202

Google – 4,181

Cognizant – 2,493

JP Morgan Chase – 2,440

Walmart – 2,390

Deloitte Consulting – 2,353

 

Infosys (2,004), LTIMindtree (1,807), and HCL America (1,728) also featured in the top 20.

 

Indian IT companies less reliant

 

Pai pushed back against the criticism, saying that Indian IT companies today were less vulnerable compared to the past.

 

“Indian service companies’ dependence on H-1B has come down. Please look at public data, in the last year, who were the top 20 filing of H-1B? Many large American tech companies are filing H-1B. So it is not Indian service companies coming there for H-1B... but the stock of H-1B is very high,” Pai said.

 

US law sets an annual cap of 65,000 new H-1B visas, with an additional 20,000 for those holding a master’s degree or higher from accredited US universities.

 

“Last year, I think about 240,000 were renewed... renewal comes every three years. So incremental H-1Bs are being given more to American companies, less to Indian service companies. Indian service companies, most of them have more than 50 per cent of the staff they work with in America who are locals... and their dependence on H-1B has come down,” Pai added.

 

Trump administration signals changes

 

The comments come as the Trump administration signals fresh scrutiny of the visa. Lutnick told Fox News earlier this week: “I’m involved in changing the H-1B programme. We’re going to change that programme, because that’s terrible.”

 

The H-1B has long been one of the most sought-after visas for Indian professionals, who make up over 70 per cent of all approvals since 2015, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

 

Wage concerns in the debate

 

Much of the debate around the H-1B system has centred on wages. USCIS figures show that 25 per cent of successful petitions were for salaries between $100,000 and $150,000 per year, while only 5 per cent crossed $150,000. The majority of Indians, however, earned less than $100,000 annually — below the median IT salary in the US of $105,990 as of May 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

Lutnick argued that foreign workers were lowering wage levels. “An average American earned $75,000 a year while the average green card recipient earned $66,000. Why are we doing that? It’s like picking the bottom core,” he said.

 

Watchdog’s warning on hiring practices

 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has cautioned against discriminatory practices that favour foreign workers.

 

“Unlawful bias against American workers, in violation of Title VII, is a large-scale problem in multiple industries nationwide,” said Andrea Lucas, acting chair of the EEOC. “The law applies to you, and you are not above the law. The EEOC is here to protect all workers from unlawful national origin discrimination, including American workers.”

 

According to the agency, employers may prefer foreign workers for reasons such as:

• Lower wage costs through loopholes or off-the-books payments

• Assumptions that foreign workers are less likely to complain

• Client preferences for foreign workers

• Perceptions of stronger work ethic