America’s biggest technology companies are increasing their reliance on foreign skilled workers, even as major Indian IT firms reduce their use of the H1B visa program. A new analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy shows that Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Google together secured more than 8600 new H1B approvals for initial employment in fiscal 2025. This marks the first time these four companies have taken the top four positions in new approvals.
Amazon continued to lead all employers with 4644 initial approvals for FY 2025, up from 3871 the previous year. It also topped continuing employment with 14532 approvals, highlighting its heavy dependence on overseas technical talent. Meta Platforms followed with 1555 approvals, almost double its 2024 numbers. Microsoft secured 1394 approvals and Google received 1050. Apple ranked sixth with 823 approvals. Analysts linked the broad surge in demand to major investments in artificial intelligence, noting that “Alphabet Meta Microsoft and Amazon each lifted their guidance for capital expenditures and now collectively expect that number to reach more than 380 billion dollars this year.”
Meanwhile Indian headquartered IT services companies are steadily pulling back from H1B hiring. Tata Consultancy Services received 846 approvals for initial employment in FY 2025, a 42 percent decline from 2024. Cognizant’s approvals dropped sharply from 2873 to 743. LTIMindtree and HCL America recorded declines of around 50 percent, and Capgemini’s numbers fell from 1041 to 401. According to the NFAP report the top seven Indian based firms together secured 4573 approvals, a 70 percent drop from 2015 and 37 percent fewer than last year.
Industry leaders say the shift reflects increased US based hiring, expanded offshore centers and rising automation in technology operations. TCS chief executive K Krithivasan recently stated that the company “will not hire new H1B employees in the coming year,” signalling a clear move towards strengthening local recruitment in the United States.
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