Indian IT in US: Upskilling & Local Hiring Amid Visa Fee Hike

The Trump government’s sudden hike in the H-1B visa annual fee to $100,000 rattled the IT sector, both in India and US.

On Monday, the industry’s apex body NASSCOM said the Indian IT and tech industry is spending more than $1 billion on local upskilling and hiring local youth in the US. The Indian and India-centric companies operating in the US have reduced their dependence on H-1B visas, going for local hiring.

According to the data, H-1B visas issued to Indian companies fell from 14,792 in 2015 to 10,162 in 2024. As the fee is applicable from 2026 onward, companies will utilize the next few months for organizing the skilling programmes in the US, NASSCOM said.

The H-1B workers in the top 10 Indian and India-centric companies are less than 1 per cent of their total employee base. This means there will be only a minor impact of the visa fee hike on the Indian IT sector in the US, Nasscom added.

Further, Nasscom said that the H-1B visa is a high-skilled worker mobility programme and a non-immigrant visa helps in filling the critical skill gaps in the US.

The H-1B professionals form only a minuscule portion of the overall US workforce. Skilled talent mobility will be central to enabling businesses to take decisions on investment, accelerate research and strengthen India’s position in the global innovation economy.