Indian IT giants Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys are expected to suffer the most severe financial impact from a new United States policy that imposes a $100,000 supplemental fee on certain H-1B visa petitions.
The fee, introduced through a presidential proclamation in September this year, applies to new H-1B applications for skilled workers entering the US from abroad, particularly those requiring consular processing. The administration has positioned the measure as a means to curb perceived abuses of the programme, prioritise employment for American citizens, and discourage reliance on low-cost foreign labour.
TCS, Infosys: Disproportionate blow to outsourcing model
The policy has sent shockwaves through India’s IT industry, which has long depended on H-1B visas to place engineers and specialists at client sites in US firms such as TCS and Infosys have built their business models around a blend of onshore and offshore delivery, but the steep fee threatens to upend this approach by making it prohibitively expensive to bring new talent from India.
According to a Bloomberg report, analysis of US visa approval data from 2020 to 2024, more than 93 percent of Infosys’s newly approved H-1B workers, upwards of 10,400 individuals, would have been subject to the $100,000 charge had it been in place during that period. This would have translated into costs exceeding $1 billion for the Bengaluru-based company alone.
TCS, the largest player in the sector, would not have been far behind. Bloomberg’s examination found that approximately 82 percent of TCS’s new H-1B approvals over the same timeframe would have triggered the fee, affecting around 6,500 workers.
The analysis underscores how the fee disproportionately targets multinational staffing and outsourcing firms that act as intermediaries, rather than technology companies hiring directly from US universities or through internal transfers.
TCS, Infosys: Reshaping hiring practices
Industry observers anticipate that the levy will force a rapid reassessment of staffing strategies. Many companies are already reducing their dependence on fresh H-1B visas from abroad, opting instead for local recruitment in the US or retaining more work in lower-cost locations offshore.
Experts quoted by Bloomberg suggest that the combination of the new fee and potential changes to the H-1B lottery system could reduce overall registrations by 30 to 50 percent in the coming year, as employers avoid entries that would incur the charge.
TCS, Infosys: Legal challenges mount
Despite its implementation, the policy faces significant opposition in the courts. A coalition of democratic-led states, business organisations, and other groups have filed lawsuits arguing that the $100,000 fee far exceeds reasonable administrative costs and oversteps presidential authority under existing immigration law.