H-1B Visa Approvals for Indian IT Firms Drop 70%

H-1B visa approvals for the top seven Indian IT firms fell to 4,573 for initial employment in fiscal year 2025. This figure represents a 70% decline since 2015 and a 37% decrease from 2024. An analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy using data from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services indicates that U.S. tech giants, including Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google, now dominate the top four positions for new approvals for the first time.

Tata Consultancy Services was the only Indian firm to remain among the top five employers for both new and continuing-employment approvals. The decline is attributed to stricter scrutiny of software engineering roles, a shift toward local hiring or remote models by Indian companies, and the hardline immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

While initial-employment denials have risen—with HCL America seeing a 6% rejection rate—rejection rates for continuing-employment petitions remain lower. This trend suggests the H-1B program is increasingly serving as a holding pattern for workers awaiting green cards.