Leading Indian IT services companies have conveyed to the government that they will significantly reduce their reliance on H-1B visas and shift more work to India for US clients, according to a report by the Economic Times.
The move comes after the US administration announced a steep hike in H-1B visa fees to $100,000 on September 19. India has been the biggest beneficiary of the programme, with nearly 71% of these visas issued to Indian nationals.
Citing officials, ET reported that IT companies told the government they do not want to remain exposed to the “vagaries, uncertainties, and changing policies in the US” that could undermine long-term business planning.
The development aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for greater self-reliance in all sectors.
While the largest share of H-1B visas goes to global tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Google, Walmart, and JP Morgan, who together account for over 94% of the 95,109 visas issued to the top 10 companies, Indian firms are also major users.
According to US government data, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) ranked second among the top 100 H-1B beneficiaries with 5,505 visas, behind Amazon. Infosys stood at 13th with 2,004 visas, while LTI Mindtree ranked 15th with 1,044. Other Indian companies on the list include HCL America, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and L&T Technology Services. Collectively, the top seven Indian companies among the top 100 account for 14,565 H-1B visas.
“It’s a bigger problem for big tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, and Walmart to tackle as they have substantially more such visas,” an official told ET.
The official also noted that startup AI firms, many of which were considering relocating teams to the US, the global hub for AI innovation, may now rethink their plans and prefer to remain in India.
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