Amazon saw the highest increase at 478%, followed by Meta Platforms (earlier Facebook) at 244%, Google at 137%, Apple at 94% and Microsoft at 70%.
The companies did not respond to ET queries by press time on Thursday.
The shift likely stems from demand for specialised tech talent across business sectors, fueled by digital transformation, cloud computing, and AI developments, said Vic Goel, managing partner at US-based corporate immigration law firm Goel & Anderson, LLC. “US companies must rely on H-1B visas to fill roles with skills not easily sourced domestically, especially in emerging tech areas.”
Meanwhile, many of the Indian-heritage IT firms now have mature US operations and are actively competing for and hiring many US workers and moving from visa-dependent business models to increased Green Card sponsorship of experienced tech workers.
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However, the anti-immigration stance of new US President Donald Trump may not only have a bearing on new H-1B worker visa, but also renewals of existing holders, employability of their spouses H4s, temporary intra-country company transfers L1 and extraordinary talent categories such as researchers EB1.Also Read: Trump or Harris: Who’s better for H-1B visa holders?
When Aravind Srinivas, the Indian-origin founder of $9 billion AI startup Perplexity said he still hasn’t received his green card, it sparked a debate on the efforts in immigrating to the US. The scenario may worsen with Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
Immigration lawyers are bracing up for a complete overhaul of the Immigration and Nationality Act with a special target on the most-coveted H-1B work visa category. Some experts are even predicting country-specific quotas depending on the US’s bilateral relationships, which may put India on a favourable footing.
“Trump has shown a great willingness in the past to negotiate country-by-country and case-by-case policy decisions, and this represents a significant opportunity for individual Indian companies to enhance or defend their situations,” said Rusell A. Stamets, partner at Delhi-based business law firm Circle of Counsels.
“Indian businesses with significant US ties should quickly grow capacity to understand and influence the US right now, rather than trying to undue harm that comes later. Companies that are proactive will benefit greatly,” said Stamets.
Irrespective of the degree of policy change, experts are reasonably sure that employers hunting for international high-skilled talent will see an increase in sponsorship and related expenses.
“The hike in work visa fees and higher prevailing wages of sponsored guestworkers drives the original intent of the work visa program viz: Help US employers find talent not found locally,” said Rajiv Dabhadkar, founder, National Organization for Software and Technology Professionals.
“With close to 300,000 international students from India arriving in 2023 alone, the burden of American work visas is expected to be more severe. Restriction on STEM graduates’ arrivals is therefore paramount.”
For instance, the Trump 1.0 administration tightened the H-1B scrutiny with the immigration department seeking evidence in 34% applications. It may also cause family instability if spouses are not allowed to work. Even L1 approvals fell to 86%.
“Previous anti-immigration efforts of the Republican regime, such as introducing policies that increased prevailing wages for H-1B workers, were overturned after they met with legal backlash,” said Poorvi Chothani founder and managing partner of LawQuest, an immigration law firm headquartered in Florida. “We should not only brace ourselves to see more of this but be prepared for changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which will be feasible now that the Republicans virtually control Congress. In the meantime, it is likely to become more expensive and difficult to employ foreign workers under the H-1B program or otherwise.”
She explained that even existing H-1B holders could expect more instability both on a professional and personal front. “H-1B renewals without high wage jobs in much-coveted roles may become harder. Also, family instability would be a larger concern if H-4s, the spouses of H1Bs, are barred from seeking employment.”
According to tech industry body Nasscom, India has invested $1.1 billion towards strengthening the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) pipeline in the US, which is working with over 130 colleges and universities, and has upskilled 255,000 employees. The industry has created and supported over 600,000 jobs in the US, directly and indirectly.
