By Bl Mumbai Bureau
Copyright thehindubusinessline
US President Donald Trump’s order slapping a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas has triggered heated debate, with concerns centered on the financial impact for Indian and global tech firms that rely on foreign workers for cost-effective project execution.
Indians account for the highest number of H-1B visa issuances by the US, and while the dependence of Indian IT companies on these visas have come down over the years, it is still sizable. So far, administrative fees on H-1B visas have been in the region of $1,500.
According to an analysis by Rohit Kaul, Senior Vice-President of Sales at Cloudify AI with over two decades of tech industry experience,the top 10 tech companies in the US will face an annual increased cost of $5.3 billion due to the new increased fee while the top 10 Indian software companies the increased cost would be over $6.2 billion.
This is based on his data of 2.4 lakh H-1B holders at the top 10 US firms and over 3 lakh H-1B holders working in the US for the top 10 Indian companies.
The average salaries of H-1B visa holders at the US companies range from $160,000-225,000, while for the Indian companies that range is $90,000-120,000, according to Kaul’s information.
Kaul, who has worked at Tech Mahindra for over 14 years in a leadership role in the APAC region, has estimated an annual increased visa cost of $950 million for Amazon, which has the highest number of H-1B visa holders at a 45,000 as per his analysis.
Abhishek Gupta, Partner and National Sector Leader, TMT IM&A-GCC, also estimated the cost to Amazon at $1 billion “just to keep their global talent pipeline flowing.”
Kaul’s estimate for the annual increased visa cost for Tata Consultancy Services is at $1.25 billion, while Gupta said that the additional fee bill for the company would be $500 million.
Amazon declined a comment as of press time, while there has been no response from TCS, so far.
‘Innovation tax’
Overseas education counsellor Sagar Parida said in a post on LinkedIn that the near 10-fold increase in visa fees would affect the profit and loss statement of companies, that would make them hesitate before hiring and sponsoring Indian professionals in the US.
Kaul called it an innovation tax for the US technology companies who would be forced to expand their research and development operations in more favourable locations, while it would be an existential challenge for Indian software firms.
An official of mid-tier IT firm Hexaware told a business channel that pricing (of contracts) could be affected, with the cost of labour going up.
Published on September 20, 2025
