H-1B Programme

Nasscom President Rajesh Nambiar says recent US H-1B visa changes will have little effect on large Indian IT firms, as companies have already boosted local hiring and are preparing for new rules

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said there will be a significant number of changes in the H1B visa process before February 2026, when the new fee of USD 100,000 goes into effect, as he described as just wrong the idea of inexpensive tech consultants coming into the country and bringing their families. The Trump administration this month announced a one-time fee of USD 100,000 for new H1B work visas, an order that will impact Indian professionals looking to work in the US on the temporary visas. Standing behind US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office when the H1B proclamation was signed, Lutnick had then said that the USD 100,000 will be an annual fee for all H1B visas, including renewals and first-time applicants. Amid widespread panic and chaos, the Trump administration clarified that the new fee requirement for H1B visas will not apply to current visa holders and is a one-time payment applicable only to new petitions. This procedure and process goes into effect in Febru

Senator Tom Cotton plans bills to overhaul the H-1B programme as the Labor Department rolls out Project Firewall to protect US jobs from visa misuse

Trump administration has raised the application fee for H-1B visas to $100,000 in a move that's sparked chaos among some global firms that rely on the programme to bring skilled workers to the US

JPMorgan warns that Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee could slash 5,500 jobs a month, hitting Indian tech workers and US firms relying on skilled foreign talent

All new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery, will require payment of the USD 100,000 fee, as announced by President Donald Trump in a recent proclamation, the US government has said. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in a 'H-1B FAQ' document, released on Sunday, said that the September 19 proclamation took an important, initial, and incremental step to reform the H-1B visa programme to curb abuses and protect American workers. The proclamation "requires a $100,000 payment to accompany any new H-1B visa petitions submitted after 12:01 am eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025," the FAQ document said. This includes applications for the 2026 lottery and any other new H-1B filings beyond that date, it added. USCIS had earlier said in a statement on Saturday that the fee would apply only to new, prospective petitions that had not yet been filed, but had not specified the exact date and time when the rule would t

India's $283 billion IT sector, which generates about 57 per cent of its total revenue from the US, has long gained from American work visa programmes and outsourcing of software and business services

Former Infosys CFO and industry veteran Mohandas Pai on Saturday said the US move to impose a steep USD 100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applicants will dampen fresh applications by companies and may accelerate offshoring in coming months. US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation that will impose USD 100,000 annual visa fee for highly skilled workers. The H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme was created to bring temporary workers into the US to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour, Trump said in the proclamation. Dismissing the notion that companies use H-1B visas to send cheap labour to the US, Pai pointed out that the average salary paid by the top 20 H-1B employers exceeds USD 100,000, and criticised what he termed as misplaced "rhetoric carrying on." An IT industry expert who did not wish to be named said that the fresh approvals for Indian

In the email, sent to its employees, Microsoft also asks those who are outside the US and with H1-B and H4 visas to return to the country immediately

Tata Consultancy Services could be among the worst hit by Trump's new visa fee targeting foreign tech workers

US lawmakers and community leaders voiced concern over US President Donald Trump's plan to impose a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, calling the move reckless and unfortunate that will have a huge negative impact on the IT industry. Trump's USD 100,000 H-1B visa fee is a reckless attempt to cut America off from high-skilled workers who have long strengthened our workforce, fuelled innovation, and helped build industries that employ millions of Americans, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said. Krishnamoorthi said many H-1B holders ultimately become citizens and launch businesses that create well-paying jobs in the US. "While other nations race to attract global talent, the United States should strengthen its workforce and modernise our immigration systemnot erect barriers that weaken our economy and security, he said. Former advisor to president Joe Biden and Asian-American community leader on immigration policy, Ajay Bhutoria, warned of a potential crisis for the US ...

Two influential Republican Senators have introduced a resolution to reverse a Biden-era rule that increased the period for renewing work permits from 180 to 540 days. The automatic extension of the Employment Authorisation Document (EAD) from 180 days to 540 days was of great help to the spouses of H-1B visa holders, a significant number of whom were from India. The rule finalised by the Department of Homeland Security on January 13 applies broadly to immigrants, refugees, green card holders, spouses of H-1B visa holders and more. Introduced on Thursday jointly by Senators John Kennedy and Rick Scott, the resolution seeks disapproval under Congressional Review Act (CRA) procedures for the Biden administration's rule that automatically extended the renewal period for an immigrant EAD to almost a year-and-a-half before officials could review those permits. The Biden administration's dangerous rule automatically extended work permits for immigrants to 540 days. Giving immigrants more

External affairs, commerce, and IT ministries have initiated measures to ensure the safety of Indian H-1B visa holders in the United States

The initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap will open on March 6, 2024, and run through March 22, 2024

The US issues up to 85,000 H-1B visas each year. Most of the nearly 600,000 H-1B visa holders are from India and China

The Congressional-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas and another 20,000 in the advanced degree categories were reached within the first 5 days after USCIS started accepting H-1B applications in April

The brain-gain to India under H-1B outweighs any brain-drain, both countries' economies have gained