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In fiscal year 2025, the top seven Indian IT companies secured only 4,573 H-1B visa approvals for new employment — a substantial 70% drop since 2015 and 37% less than in 2024, according to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). This decline highlights a shift, as Indian firms increasingly rely less on H-1B visas, while US tech giants accelerate hiring of foreign-born talent, especially graduates, to power artificial intelligence (AI) development within the country.
Among Indian IT firms, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) led continuing employment approvals but also experienced a rise in extension rejections—from 4% in 2024 to 7% in 2025. In contrast, the overall denial rate for continuing employment remained relatively low at 1.9% in 2025. TCS received 5,293 approvals for continuing employment and only 846 for initial hires, indicating a sharp year-over-year decline.
Only three Indian firms made it into the top 25 H-1B petitioners for new hires, with TCS being the only one in the top five. Meanwhile, major US tech companies dominated approvals for initial H-1B employment in FY 2025: Amazon (4,644), Meta (1,555), Microsoft (1,394), and Google (1,050).
Stuart Anderson, NFAP Executive Director, noted that while Indian companies now provide IT services using fewer H-1B workers, US companies have heavily invested in AI and are recruiting from US universities to build local capabilities. This data is based on USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub statistics.
Geographically, California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia led in H-1B visa approvals. New York City topped the list among cities, followed by Arlington, Chicago, San Jose, and Santa Clara.
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