The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is altering employment trends in the US, especially concerning Indian workers on H-1B visas. While US tech giants are accelerating the hiring of foreign nationals to support AI systems, Indian IT companies appear to be scaling back their demand for H-1B employees.
In FY 2025, the top seven India-based IT companies received just 4,573 H-1B approvals for new employment—a 70% decline since 2015 and 37% less than in 2024, according to the National Foundation for American Policy. Meanwhile, US-based companies are sourcing talent globally, including recent graduates, to power their AI initiatives.
Despite these changes, the denial rate for continuing H-1B employment remained low at 1.9% in FY 2025, similar to 1.8% in FY 2024 and less than 2.4% in FY 2023. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the only Indian IT firm in the top five for continuing-employment approvals, although its rejection rate for extensions increased to 7% in 2025 from 4% in 2024. TCS received 5,293 approvals for continuing and 846 for initial employment, a drop from 1,452 last year.
Only three Indian firms made it into the top 25 employers for initial H-1B approvals in 2025. In contrast, American tech firms dominated the rankings. Amazon led with 4,644 approvals, followed by Meta (1,555), Microsoft (1,394), and Google (1,050). For the first time, US firms hold the top four spots. TCS stood at fifth place, while LTIMindtree and HCL ranked 20th and 21st, respectively.
Experts note a clear shift as Indian IT companies reduce reliance on H-1B visas, while US companies push forward with large-scale AI investment and international hiring.
