H-1B Visa Row

India's USD 280-billion IT industry heads into 2026, balancing visa-related headwinds and global trade uncertainty against its biggest-ever push into artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of global capability centres (GCCs). Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme - including a proposed USD 100,000 fee for new visas and concerns over a potential 25 per cent outsourcing tax - has complicated cross-border delivery for Indian firms, even as companies accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on onsite staffing. The US remains the sector's largest export market. The visa proposals triggered market volatility in late 2025, disrupting travel plans and denting IT stocks, before partial clarifications offered limited relief. Fresh concerns have since emerged around social media screening and unpredictable processing delays. Analysts warn that sharply higher visa costs could add hundreds of millions of dollars to expenses for large IT firms, reinforcing the shift toward ...

States argue that the $100,000 H-1B fee exceeds presidential authority, could disrupt tech, healthcare, and education, and adds a costly barrier for employers hiring skilled foreign workers

An American lawmaker will be introducing a bill to completely eliminate the H-1B visa programme and take away the pathway to citizenship that it offers, forcing individuals to "return home when their visa expires. My dear fellow Americans, I'm introducing a bill to completely eliminate the H-1B visa programme, which has been riddled with fraud and abuse and has been displacing American workers for decades, Congresswoman from Gerogia, Marjorie Taylor Greene said in a video posted on X on Thursday. She said that there will only be one exemption in her bill, which will allow for a 10,000 per year cap on visas issued to medical professionals like doctors and nurses who provide life-saving care to Americans. Greene however noted that even this 10,000 per year cap will be phased out over 10 years to allow us time to build our own pipeline of American doctors and physicians. Greene added that her bill will also take away the pathway to citizenship, forcing visa holders to return home when

The group lost about $20 billion, over a fifth of this year's total decline, since Sept 19 after President Donald Trump tightened US work-visa rules, weighing on Tata Consultancy Services Ltd

MEA said the H1B visa issue remains an evolving situation and India hopes the White House reconsiders its fee hike and restrictions, stressing skilled mobility helps both nations

Michael Moritz said Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what drives America's tech success and risks pushing innovation abroad

Margaret MacLeod's remarks follow Trump's executive order imposing a $100,000 fee on fresh H-1B visa applications and reflect growing tensions over India's oil trade with Russia

Former US Ambassador to New Delhi Tim Roemer's remarks came days after Trump's overhaul of the H-1B visa programme to widen his administration's crackdown on immigrants

Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Sanjeev Sanyal today questioned why IT firms in India send people to the US, noting their work does not require physical relocation

Nasscom further said that with the fee being applicable from 2026 onward, companies have time to further expand skilling programs in the US and enhance local hiring

IT stocks such as Infosys, TCS and 3 others could see limited downside from current levels, as they are trading above key support levels, backed by positive cues from momentum oscillators, show charts

A powerful US lawmaker has criticised the policy affecting children of H-1B visa holders who "age out" their immigration status upon turning 21. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. Children of H-1B visa holders who turn 21 before their parent secures a Green Card can lose their dependent status and age out of the ability to obtain a permanent resident card. A Green Card allows a non-US citizen to live and work permanently in America. The extensive Green Card backlogs for high-skilled workers mean that H-1B visa holders must wait decades and even centuries before a Green Card is available to them, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, senior Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, said during a Congressional hearing on restoring ..

H-1B final rule modernizes the H-1B program by streamlining the approval process, increasing its flexibility to better allow employers to retain talent workers and improving the integrity of programme

The temporary work permits are the only real way to employ Indian immigrants in the US, since national caps make it nearly impossible for them to get a green card

This may have an impact on India's $250 billion tech sector which plays an important role in the economy, employing about 5.4 million people

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

Congress leader Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, implicated in US H-1B Visa Lottery Manipulation Scheme, denies any wrongdoing

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

"Most employers hire H-1B workers because they can be underpaid and are de facto indentured to the employer," the EPI research said.

The low annual limit for US H-1B work visa petitions is currently the main problem facing employers trying to secure foreign-born talent, according to a new research