 "TCS")
In a major jolt to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), coming just months after the company announced one of its biggest layoffs, the IT giant is expected to be among the worst hit by US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa workers.
Data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) show that TCS was the second-biggest beneficiary of H-1B visas in 2025, with over 5,000 approvals as of June. Amazon topped the list with 10,044 H-1B workers, according to a PTI report.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order requiring companies to pay $100,000 annually for each H-1B worker, along with stricter wage norms aimed at prioritising American hires, especially in entry-level roles.
The move is expected to hit India particularly hard. The country accounted for 71 per cent of approved H-1B beneficiaries last year, while China stood a distant second at 11.7 per cent, Reuters reported.
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Crisis deepens for IT sector
India’s information technology (IT) industry is set to be among the hardest hit. Already reeling from a weak global economy and the impact of US tariffs that have slowed manufacturing and retail, the sector now faces fresh turbulence.
Earlier this year, several major IT firms announced mass layoffs and froze salary hikes. The crisis has intensified for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which in July revealed plans to cut 12,000 jobs — about 2 per cent of its global workforce in 2025. This marks one of the largest workforce reductions ever for the Tata group company.
Crackdown on foreign workers
Starting September 21, no H-1B visa holder will be allowed to enter the US, including current visa holders, unless they pay a $100,000 fee.
According to the PTI report, the share of IT workers in the H-1B programme jumped from 32 per cent in the financial year 2002-03 to an average of over 65 per cent in the last five years. Many of the biggest H-1B employers today are IT outsourcing companies.
These firms help US employers cut costs significantly. A study cited in the report found that H-1B entry-level tech positions cost 36 per cent less than hiring full-time American workers. To benefit from these lower costs, companies often shut down their IT divisions, lay off US employees, and outsource jobs to cheaper foreign workers.
Trump's administration's latest move is aimed at curbing such instances and increasing employment opportunities for US workers.
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