American tech giants banking on H-1B visas like never before, while their Indian counterparts are staying away

Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Meta are among US technology giants hiring more H-1B visa holding employees in the last eight years even as Indian IT services firms cut their reliance, as per an ET analysis.

India’s top seven IT services companies including TCS, Wipro, Infosys, HCL have brought down their dependency on H-1B employees by 56% in the last eight years. In the same period, use of the US’s premier work visa soared by 189% at Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Apple combined, analysis of H-1B beneficiary approval data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services showed.

Amazon experienced the largest growth at 478%, followed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) with a 244% increase, Google at 137%, Apple at 94%, and Microsoft at 70%.


The companies did not respond to ET queries by press time on Thursday.

The shift likely stems from demand for specialised tech talent across business sectors, fueled by digital transformation, cloud computing, and AI developments, said Vic Goel, managing partner at US-based corporate immigration law firm Goel & Anderson, LLC. “US companies must rely on H-1B visas to fill roles with skills not easily sourced domestically, especially in emerging tech areas.”

Meanwhile, many Indian-origin IT firms have developed established operations in the US and are now actively recruiting American workers. These companies are shifting away from visa-reliant business models and are increasingly offering Green Card sponsorship to experienced tech professionals.

However, the anti-immigration policies of newly elected US President Donald Trump could impact not only the issuance of new H-1B worker visas but also the renewals of existing visas, the employability of spouses on H4 visas, temporary intra-company transfers (L1), and categories for extraordinary talent, such as researchers under EB1.

When Aravind Srinivas, the Indian-origin founder of $9 billion AI startup Perplexity said he still hasn’t received his green card, it sparked a debate on the efforts in immigrating to the US. The scenario may worsen with Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

Immigration lawyers are preparing for a major revision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, with a particular focus on the highly sought-after H-1B work visa category. Some experts are even speculating that country-specific quotas could be introduced, potentially benefiting India based on its diplomatic ties with the US.

“Trump has shown a great willingness in the past to negotiate country-by-country and case-by-case policy decisions, and this represents a significant opportunity for individual Indian companies to enhance or defend their situations,” said Rusell A. Stamets, partner at Delhi-based business law firm Circle of Counsels.

“Indian businesses with significant US ties should quickly grow capacity to understand and influence the US right now, rather than trying to undue harm that comes later. Companies that are proactive will benefit greatly,” said Stamets.

Irrespective of the degree of policy change, experts are reasonably sure that employers hunting for international high-skilled talent will see an increase in sponsorship and related expenses.

“The hike in work visa fees and higher prevailing wages of sponsored guestworkers drives the original intent of the work visa program viz: Help US employers find talent not found locally,” said Rajiv Dabhadkar, founder, National Organization for Software and Technology Professionals.

“With close to 300,000 international students from India arriving in 2023 alone, the burden of American work visas is expected to be more severe. Restriction on STEM graduates' arrivals is therefore paramount.”

For example, during the Trump administration's first term, H-1B visa applications faced increased scrutiny, with the immigration department requesting additional evidence for 34% of applications. This could lead to family instability if spouses are unable to work. Additionally, L1 visa approvals dropped to 86%.

“Previous anti-immigration efforts of the Republican regime, such as introducing policies that increased prevailing wages for H-1B workers, were overturned after they met with legal backlash,” said Poorvi Chothani founder and managing partner of LawQuest, an immigration law firm headquartered in Florida. “We should not only brace ourselves to see more of this but be prepared for changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which will be feasible now that the Republicans virtually control Congress. In the meantime, it is likely to become more expensive and difficult to employ foreign workers under the H-1B program or otherwise.”

She explained that even existing H-1B holders could expect more instability both on a professional and personal front. “H-1B renewals without high wage jobs in much-coveted roles may become harder. Also, family instability would be a larger concern if H-4s, the spouses of H1Bs, are barred from seeking employment.”

According to tech industry body Nasscom, India has invested $1.1 billion towards strengthening the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) pipeline in the US, which is working with over 130 colleges and universities, and has upskilled 255,000 employees. The industry has created and supported over 600,000 jobs in the US, directly and indirectly.