This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency, USCIS said.
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.
In a move that will benefit a significantly large number of Indian technology professionals, the US is set to begin a pilot programme for domestic renewal of certain categories of H-1B visas in December. 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.
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.
Thousands of Indian H-1B workers are stranded in India after sudden visa appointment cancellations at US consulates.
Amid headwinds across global markets, US issues fresh restrictions on H-1B visas. Ayan Pramanik & Raghu Krishnan list out the many ways in which this impacts the Indian IT industry.
The US Citizenship Act 2023 introduced by Congresswoman Linda S nchez creates an earned roadmap to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants, providing Dreamers, TPS holders, and some farmworkers with an immediate path to citizenship.
In the past five years, the US has seen nearly two dozen Bills on employment visas introduced without success. But this time it is different, industry sources tell Ayan Pramanik.
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."
Several individuals and organisations, including the US Chambers of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's recent rules related to the H-1B visa, terming them "arbitrary" and "haphazard" regulations that will undermine high skilled immigration into America. Early this month, the Trump administration announced new restrictions on H-1B non-immigrant visa programme which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which is likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.
'The kids are already used to this place. We go back and that's a different environment.' 'So, mentally, emotionally we are stressed.'
In what can be good news for hundreds of Indian IT professionals seeking the H-1B work visa, the US' immigration agency has decided to conduct a rare second lottery for the most sought-after visas to decide on the successful applicants who could not make it in the first random selection. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Thursday that a decision was taken after determining that the computerised draw of lots for H-1B visas conducted early this year did not give them enough numbers of the Congressional mandated H-1B visas. The H-1B visa, the most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
In a big relief for thousands of stranded Indian professionals in America due to the coronavirus pandemic, the US government has decided to allow applications by H-1B visa holders for an extended stay in the country. The US department of homeland security in a new notification has said it recognises that there are immigration-related challenges as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Biden administration has proposed a massive hike in immigration fees, including the much sought-after H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers, which is very popular among Indian tech professionals. Under the proposed rule, published by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Wednesday, the application for the H-1B visa increases from $460 to $780, and L-1 from $460 to $1,385. The application fee for O-1 visas has been proposed to increase from $460 to $1,055.
TCS is hiring from over a hundred engineering campuses, MBA graduates from top B-schools in the US
The Biden administration has indicated that it is still undecided on ending the Trump-era ban on issuing new H-1B visas, with the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asserting that the US government's top priority is the acute needs of individuals fleeing persecution. The H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, 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.
From May 26 onwards, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting applications for work visas from H-IB spouses, reports Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com.
The lawsuit seeks an order declaring the presidential proclamation restriction on issuing new H-1B or H4 visas or admitting new H-1B or H-4 visa holders as unlawful.
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.
'New announcements are made every day which brings tremendous amount of instability and uncertainty.' 'Relying on America has become a big problem.'
From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Trent, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers. On the other hand, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
We look at the requirments and qualifications necessary for H-1B applicants: What work and educational experience do you need? What are the mandatory documents?
According to Republican Senator Charles Grassley and Democratic Senator Richard Durbin, more companies are now using H-1B visas to displace qualified American workers.
'We are only talking about 65,000 H1B visas a year, it is not going to go down drastically.' 'If the number reduces and when you spread that reduction across all the top IT services companies, the impact will be marginal.'
Trump told reporters that his administration will not tolerate firing of hardworking Americans in pursuit of cheap foreign labour.
'As Mayor, I will use my platform to reject any efforts by the Trump administration to curtail immigration.'
The current Federal rules require an H-1B visa holder to leave the US along with family members within 60 days of losing his job. The H-1B visa holders have started a petition campaign on the White House website to extend the timeline for their stay in the US to 180 days after they are being laid off.
'Techies who did a master's there and moved to US companies look down on Indian companies who they consider as just doing body shopping.'
While the denial rate has dropped slightly to 21 per cent in 2019 from 24 per cent in 2018, the National Foundation for American Policy has said it is much higher for Indian IT companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro and very low for American companies like Amazon and Google. For instance, the denial rate for TCS and Infosys in 2019 was 31 per cent and 35 per cent respectively, whereas for Wipro it was 47 per cent and 37 per cent for Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, the denial rate for the new H-1B petitions in 2019 was just four per cent each for Amazon and Google. The denial rate for Microsoft during the same period was six per cent, and Facebook along with Walmart was just three per cent each.
Even as the strong anti-outsourcing lobby in the US is forcing US lawmakers to take a relook at their H1-B visa strategy amid huge job losses, Infosys Technologies which holds the largest number of H1-B visas among all the Indian IT services companies has started reducing the number as a part of the company's policy to reduce its 'overseas bench' strength.
Shares of information technology (IT) companies were in demand on Friday, with the National Stock Exchange's (NSE's) Nifty IT index rallying 3.3 per cent on . This came after Infosys reported steady sequential growth, driven by health care boost and large deal rampup in a seasonally weak quarter (Q3FY26).
The United States on Saturday announced that from April 3 it will temporarily suspend the 'premium processing' of H-1B visas that allowed some companies to jump the queue as part of its efforts to clear the backlog.
H1-B holders in the US can rest assured that changes are soon coming which will bring both simplicity and certainty to your stay, including a potential path to citizenship: Trump.
The Biden administration on Friday issued a formal notification to delay the implementation of the previous Trump regime's controversial rule to raise mandatory minimum pay for foreign workers on H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The Department of Labour in its federal notification published on Friday said that it is considering whether to propose a further delay of the final rule's effective date and accompanying implementation periods that are currently scheduled to take effect on May 14, 2021, and July 1, 2021, respectively.
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 proclamation that comes into effect on June 24, is expected to impact a large number of Indian IT professionals and several American and Indian companies who were issued H-1B visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021 beginning October 1.
The much sought after H-1B visa programme, particularly among Indian technology graduates, discriminates against women.
US President Donald Trump is considering suspending a number of employment visas including the H-1B, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, in view of the massive unemployment in America due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a media report. The proposed suspension could extend into the government's new fiscal year beginning October 1, when many new visas are issued, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed administration officials.
Researches reveal that many firms that employ H-1B workers directly, including some of the biggest names in the technology industry such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Qualcomm, Salesforce and Uber, pay a large share of their H-1B workers at one of the two lowest wage levels, Level 1 or Level 2.
