New York: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has emerged as the second-highest recipient of H-1B visas in 2025, with more than 5,500 approvals, according to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Amazon topped the list with 10,044 H-1B visa holders as of June 2025.
Other major beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
The Trump administration has announced a steep annual fee of USD 100,000 on H-1B visas, which it said was aimed at curbing “systemic abuse” of the program. The new rule will require employers to pay the fee for each petition or supplement, with effect from September 21, 2025.
US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation titled Restriction on entry of certain nonimmigrant workers, which bars entry of individuals unless their H-1B applications include the payment. The restriction will remain in place for 12 months, unless extended.
The proclamation highlighted that the number of foreign workers in STEM fields in the US rose from 1.2 million in 2000 to nearly 2.5 million in 2019, while overall STEM employment grew by only 44.5 per cent during the same period. Among computer and mathematical occupations, the foreign share of the workforce rose from 17.7 per cent in 2000 to 26.1 per cent in 2019.
According to the administration, IT outsourcing firms have been the “primary manipulators” of the H-1B system, often replacing American workers with lower-paid foreign employees. It cited studies showing that companies save up to 36 per cent by hiring H-1B workers for entry-level roles compared to full-time US staff.
IT workers made up 32 per cent of H-1B visas in FY 2003, rising to an average of more than 65 per cent over the past five fiscal years. The proclamation also cited several cases where companies laid off thousands of American workers while securing large numbers of H-1B approvals.
In one instance, a software firm approved for more than 5,000 H-1B workers in FY 2025 announced layoffs affecting over 15,000 employees. Another IT company, with nearly 1,700 H-1B approvals that year, cut 2,400 jobs in Oregon. A third firm reduced its American workforce by 27,000 since 2022 while securing more than 25,000 H-1B visas, and a fourth eliminated 1,000 jobs in February despite being cleared for over 1,100 H-1B workers in FY 2025.
USCIS confirmed in July that it had already received sufficient petitions to meet the annual cap of 65,000 regular H-1B visas and the 20,000 visas reserved for advanced degree holders for fiscal year 2026.