The number of H-1B visa approvals for initial employment by the top seven Indian IT companies fell sharply to 4,573 in FY 2025 — a 70% drop from 2015 and 37% lower than in 2024. The decline is attributed to stricter immigration policies under US President Donald Trump. TCS stood out as the only Indian company among the top five employers for both new and continuing H-1B employment approvals.
Data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that TCS received 846 approvals for new H-1B hires in 2025, significantly down from 1,452 in 2024. For continuing employment, TCS secured 5,293 approvals, though its rejection rate rose to 7%, higher than the overall USCIS average of 1.9%.
Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google have taken the lead in initial H-1B approvals, marking a shift in the visa landscape. While continuing-employment rejection rates remain low for most Indian firms — Infosys, Wipro, and LTIMindtree posted rejection rates between 1% and 2% — initial employment denials are rising. HCL America saw a 6% denial rate, LTIMindtree 5%, and Capgemini 4%.
Experts suggest that companies are now prioritizing retaining existing workers rather than bringing in new hires. This is reflected in the declining number of labour certifications for “software engineers,” which dropped from 40,378 in 2022 to 23,922 in 2025.
Claims that H-1B workers are “cheap labour” are also challenged by USCIS data showing that the average annual salary in computer-related fields was $136,000 in FY 2024. Furthermore, 63% of approved H-1B workers held a master’s degree or higher, highlighting the high level of skill and education among these professionals.
