AI Revolution Leads to 10-Year Low in H-1B Approvals

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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.

H1B visas, Indian IT companies, US tech companies, artificial intelligence, USCIS data
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