Tech Giants Respond to H-1B Fee Hike

The Indian government is actively working with both the IT industry and the US administration to address issues surrounding the recent hike in H-1B visa application fees. This comes after US President Donald Trump's proclamation to increase the fee to USD 100,000 annually, affecting major American tech companies.

The increase in fees poses a significant challenge for American companies, which are dominant users of H-1B visas for highly-skilled professionals. Major players like Amazon, which topped FY25's H-1B approval list with 10,044 visas, are now in talks with the US government along with Indian industries and associations like Nasscom to find solutions.

The top-ten list of H-1B visa beneficiaries includes giants such as TCS, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google, all facing the repercussions of the fee hike. Other notable users of the visa program include Cognizant, JP Morgan Chase, Walmart, Deloitte Consulting, Infosys, LTIMindtree, and HCL America, all of whom are directly impacted.

(With inputs from agencies.)