H1 B Visa

In order to temporarily work at an employer in a specialty occupation, each year the United States issues around 65,000 H-1B visas to foreign individuals under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). This is a temporary visa, issued to people applying for a specialty occupation which requires the application of specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or the equivalent of work experience. This visa is valid for three years and is extendable to six years. However, for a much longer stay in the US, the visa holder may need to reapply. According to norms, a person in H-1B status must continue to be employed by their employer in order to stay in H-1B status. If in any case, the person's employment ends, then he or she will have to leave the United States. However, if the person is granted a change of status or finds another employer compatible with the H-1B status, he or she can extend his or her stay in the USA. Among other changes, after the person's end of employment, a person is allowed a grace period of up to 60 days to stay in the United States under the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services rules. The maximum duration of the H-1B visa is ten years for exceptional United States Department of Defense project related work. For those H-1B holders who want to continue to work in the US after six years, but who have not obtained permanent residency status, will have to remain outside of the U.S. for one year before reapplying for another H-1B visa. The H-1B season commences for the following federal fiscal year on April 1 and the employment authorizations are granted on October 1. Though the Immigration Act of 1990 established a limit of 65,000 foreign nationals who may be issued a visa or otherwise provided H-1B status each fiscal year, an additional 20,000 H-1Bs are available to foreign nationals holding a master's or higher degree from US universities. Under the H-1B visa norms, employers must withhold social security and medicare taxes from the wages paid to employees in H-1B status. For people seeking to bring their immediate family members --spouse and children under 21 -- to the United States, they will have to apply under the H-4 visa category as dependents. An H-4 visa holder may remain in the US as long as the H-1B visa holder retains legal status and is allowed to attend school, apply for a driver's license, and open a bank account in the United States. In case if an employer lays off an H-1B worker, the employer is required to pay for the laid-off worker's transportation outside the United States. Also, if an H-1B worker is laid off or quits, the worker has a grace period of 60 days to find a new employer or leave the country. More

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American media shreds Trump's H-1B move, points out irony: 'Biggest US firms run by someone who grew up in India'

The US media highlighted how Indian engineers and coders have been the backbone of innovation in Silicon Valley for decades.
Indian IT firms plan to cut H-1B dependence, bring more work back home: Report

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.
Doctors likely to be exempt from Trump administration’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee: White House

H-1B visa fee news: Health care employers often sponsor medical residents and other physicians through the H-1B program.
US clarification on H-1B calms nerves in tech circles but some warn of deferred impact

According to the USCIS website, for the 2025 fiscal (data as on June 30, 2025), Amazon topped the list of H-1B visa approvals at 10,044.
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Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa entry fee explained: Who will be most impacted? What we know so far

The Trump administration says the rule is intended to prevent abuse of the H-1B program and protect American jobs.
US official clarifies $100,000 H-1B visa fee applies only to new applicants, not existing holders: Report

H1-B Visa News: The clarification comes amid widespread concern in India, which accounts for more than 70% of H-1B visas, following Trump’s proclamation introducing the new fee.
India raises concerns over US H-1B visa fee hike, warns of family disruptions

The MEA highlighted that both India and the US have a shared stake in innovation and creativity and should consult on the best way forward.
H-1B visa fee hike likely to hit Indian IT firms by $1 billion: Sandip Agarwal of Sowilo Investment Managers

Indian visa consultants have raised concerns over US President Donald Trump’s Executive Order that increases the fee companies must pay to sponsor H-1B applicants to $100,000
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Top 5 Indian IT companies have less than 50% dependency on H-1B visas

Indian-origin companies like Infosys and TCS were major players for the H-1B visa sponsorship, securing nearly 20 percent of the total approved visas in 2024, according to USCIS data.
What does Trump's win mean for H-1B visa holders, Indian techies

With the numerous changes in the administration policies, it is believed that Trump's administration may go back to stricter regulations on foreign workers and a curb on immigration levels
Dependence on H1-B visas low, over 60% of US workers local, says Infosys

For Q3, Infosys offshore employees made up 76 percent of the workforce while the rest were onsite.
Trump versus Harris: What does it mean for Indian IT companies?

There are plenty of shortcomings in the present H1-B visa rules including a lottery-based system and multiple applications for the same candidate, highlight experts.
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Planning your child's education abroad? Residency via investment can help

Apart from helping you immigrate to another country, residency-by-investment visas can give your child much better opportunities than a student visa. These programmes can also give your family the right to live and work in that country.
Presidential advisory panel recommends to extend grace period for H1-B workers to 180 days

As a result, many H1-B workers are forced to leave the country which could result in a loss of skilled labour for the United States, Ajay Jain Bhutoria told members of the advisory commission.

Chasing the American Dream: The buzz for EB-5 visa programme amid gloomy US tech sector

"Our data show that Indians requested to convert the classification of their current visa to an EB-5 visa at double the rate in 2022 versus 2021," said Peter Calabrese, CEO of the Wall Street-based CanAm Investor Services.
Engineer who appeared in ‘Indian Matchmaking’ among those sacked by Meta

Surbhi Gupta, also a beauty pageant winner, said she had worked for over 15 years to build a life in the US.
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H1-B visa restrictions: Democratic lawmakers urge Donald Trump admin to exempt healthcare workers

President Donald Trump, in his June proclamation, banned the entry into the US of workers in several key non-immigrant visa categories, including the H-1B, arguing that they eat into American jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
H-1B visa ban | CRISIL estimates Rs 1,200-crore impact on Indian IT firms

CRISIL, however, said that the marginal impact will be over and above the up to 2.50 percent decline in IT firms' profits because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
H-1B visas: India tops list of registrants, says USCIS

After India, China is the second largest beneficiary at 13.2 percent.
H1-B visa denials touch all-time high: Report

The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has adversely affected Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro.
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Trade Wars: Battle takes a turn as US mulls cap on H-1B

India is one of the largest beneficiaries of H-1B. The move if implemented will have an impact not only in Indian businesses but also global companies that employ them
US Court dismisses visa fraud lawsuit against Infosys, Apple

The lawsuit was filed in 2016 by a whistleblower alleging that the iPhone maker Apple and Indian IT company Infosys conspired to bring two Indian nationals for training on B-1 visa instead of more expensive H1-B visa.
H1-B visa rule favouring adv degree holders to impact IT cos: Report

In December 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed reversing the process for H1-B selection favouring advance degree holders.
Bill introduced to protect work authorisation of spouses of H1-B visa holders

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa through which many Indians workers are employed in US companies
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Trump admin looks to toughen H-1B visa procedure

The proposed regulation also aims to intensify efforts to crackdown on H-1B visa fraud, said Francis Cissna, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director in a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley.