A sharp rise in visa costs is set to reshape hiring plans for large IT outsourcing and staffing companies with a heavy presence in the US market.
President Donald Trump has proposed a $100,000 fee for new H-1B workers hired from outside the US. This is the most significant restriction introduced so far on skilled foreign worker hiring and is expected to hit multinational staffing firms the hardest.
A recent news analysis shows the impact would fall heavily on companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Cognizant Technology Solutions. Nearly 90% of new H-1B hires at these firms between May 2020 and May 2024 were approved at US consulates. If the fee had applied during that period, it would have added hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs.
Infosys would have been the most affected. More than 93% of its new H-1B hires, over 10,400 workers, would have attracted the $100,000 fee, resulting in visa charges exceeding $1 billion. Tata would have paid the fee for about 6,500 workers, or 82% of its new approvals, while Cognizant would have faced costs for more than 5,600 employees, or 89% of new hires.
The fee targets firms that rely on bringing workers from overseas rather than hiring graduates already in the US. Workers hired from outside the country accounted for over 40% of new H-1B approvals in the past 4 years.
Immigration attorney Jonathan Wasden said, “We’re already seeing that happen. The fear is that if you have truly exceptional talent overseas, those people are definitely going to be missing out.”
Some companies believe the short term impact will be limited. Cognizant spokesman Jeff DeMarrais said, “The recently announced Proclamation is expected to have limited near-term impact on Cognizant’s operations.” He added that the company now uses visas only for select roles.
The H-1B program offers 85,000 visas each year and has long been dominated by large tech firms. Critics argue it undercuts US workers, though H-1B employees must be paid prevailing wages.
Legal challenges to the fee are underway, including a case led by a major business group, with a court hearing scheduled this week. Despite this, many employers are already adjusting plans.
Steve Hall of a tech research firm said the fee will push more jobs overseas and increase investment in India over the next few years. “If you want to access the world’s best talent, you have to go where the talent is,” he said.
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