The annual meet also saw some shareholders of the country's second largest IT services company raising concerns over falling operating margins. But many congratulated the management for delivering good FY20 performance despite the tough economic conditions.
The proposed changes are forward-looking and non-specific, said Nasscom
Indian IT firms - which have to incur an additional burden of about $400 million annually - have called it "discriminatory".
He however said, US has been a very welcoming market for TCS and has provided it with a fair, open and competitive environment
Some foreign guest workers in the US will be able to re-submit their applications for the H1-B visa, the most sought-after non-immigrant visa among Indian IT professionals, if their petition was solely rejected because it was based on the initial registration period, according to a federal agency. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), such re-submission of applications is for those whose applications have been rejected or administratively closed solely because the requested start date was after October 1, 2020. The H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
Now White House would carry out its review of the proposed regulation, take inputs from various agencies, before taking a final call. The entire process could take from a few weeks to several months.
The H-1B visas coveted by highly-skilled professionals mainly from India appear to be losing its sheen thanks to the economic downturn in the US when for the first time in years there were fewer takers even one week after authorities began accepting applications.
The US Chamber of Commerce urges US lawmakers to revamp job-based Green Card and H-1B programmes.
The Republican Study Committee of the House of Representatives, in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, appealed to them to take up the legislation and pass it in the next few months. The panel called for an increase in the number of H-1B visas from the current 65,000 to 115,000 and for 20 per cent built-in annual increase.
This April, visa applications to be issued for the US financial year beginning October saw a 50 per cent drop over last April.
If the Indian government is indeed serious about reversing brain drain, it needs to put much more emphasis on research and innovation, especially in areas that will determine the future, asserts Prosenjit Datta.
Indian Americans contribute approximately 5% to 6% -- roughly $300 billion -- in federal tax revenues annually.
India's $280-billion IT industry heads into 2026, balancing visa-related headwinds and global trade uncertainty against its biggest-ever push into artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of global capability centres (GCCs). Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme - including a proposed $100,000 fee for new visas and concerns over a potential 25 per cent outsourcing tax - has complicated cross-border delivery for Indian firms, even as companies accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on onsite staffing.
The lawsuit has been filed by American Immigration Council and American Immigration Lawyers Association.
US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation restricting entry of certain non-immigrant workers and imposing a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas, citing abuse of the program and national security concerns.
This is not a new rule, but very few people know about it.
The companies experienced a drop of 5,436 approved petitions (37 per cent) in 2016 as compared to previous year, a report by the National Foundation for American Policy, a Washington-based non-profit think-tank, said.
Among IT services firm, Cognizant witnessed over 60 per cent of its initial applications rejected, followed by Capgemini, Accenture, Wipro, and Infosys. In 2018, the top six Indian firms got just 16 per cent or 2,145 H1B work permits.
This is primarily because of the current economic situation in the country, Microsoft said. "Given the economic downturn, we are filing substantially fewer H-1B applications than we filed last year," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith wrote in a blog posting on microsoftissues.com.
Reflecting the mood of the Silicon Valley, prominent media outlets from California have come out openly in support of the H-1B work visas and opposed increasing the "hire Americans" call in the United States.
The H-1B work visas for highly skilled professionals have been most beneficial from IT sector professionals from India.
"We will fight to protect every last American life," Trump
As of September 2025, the expected time of interview appointments for visitor visa (B-1/B-2) at New Delhi was 12 months, far more than the time at other US consulates in the capital cities of top economies of the world.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has said that the curbs on how many foreign workers US tech firms can bring into the United States should be done away with, according to news reports.
A deep dive into Trump's new policy and what it means for Indian professionals and companies.
Indian-American executive Srini Gopalan has been appointed chief executive officer of telecom operator T-Mobile, amid ongoing debates over H-1B visa policies. Gopalan's appointment, effective from November 1, 2025, comes as US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a staggering $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, triggering widespread panic, concern and fear among Indian professionals on work visa.
The US needs to understand that it could potentially lose out on attracting several Netravalkars in the future if it curbs the influx of such industrious Indian immigrants, argues Vishal Menon.
The ruling came following an argument in an amicus brief by American Immigration Council.
The US has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach a cap for the much-sought-after H-1B foreign work visas for the fiscal year 2024, a federal agency has announced. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The mandated Congressional cap is of 65,000.
Once the most sought after H-1B American work visa is still having nearly 20,000 slots open seven weeks after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) started receiving applications for the financial year 2010 beginning October this year.
Many foreigners, including Indians, have benefitted from the immigration visa.
The US is planning to resume the process of domestic visa revalidation in certain categories, like H-1B and L1 visas, on a pilot basis later this year, a move that will benefit tens of thousands of foreign tech workers, particularly from India. Until 2004, certain categories of non-immigrant visas, particularly the H-1B, could be renewed or stamped inside the US. After that, for the renewal of these visas, in particular, those on H-1B, the foreign tech workers have to go out of the country, mostly to their own country to get the H-1B extension stamped on their passport.
US is the largest market for the over $140 billion Indian IT services industry
'The kids are already used to this place. We go back and that's a different environment.' 'So, mentally, emotionally we are stressed.'
Ahead of Trump's inauguration here on January 20, the debate on foreign guest workers visas for highly skilled professionals, the H-1B, has intensified which has literally created divisions in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.
The decision to hike US H-1B visa application fee to $100,000, trade talks and the GST rate cut will be the key drivers for stock market movement this week, analysts said.
The US President said that companies have to bring people to "get those plants opened, we want you to do that, and we want those people to teach our people how to make computer chips and how to make other things."
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