H-1B approvals for Indian IT firms drop to decade low
What's the story
The top seven Indian IT companies have seen a major drop in their H-1B visa approvals. According to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), these firms received only 4,573 initial employment petitions approved in FY 2025. This is a whopping 70% decline from 2015 and a decline of 37% from last year. The data was sourced from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub.
Company performance
TCS leads in H-1B approvals
Among the top Indian IT firms, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the only one to have made it to the list of top five employers getting approvals for new H-1B workers in the US. The company also leads in continuing-employment approvals but its rejection rate for extensions has gone up from 4% last year to 7% this year. This year, TCS received 5,293 approvals for continued employment. For initial employment, the firm secured 846 approvals, down from 1,452 in 2024.
Industry shift
NFAP report reveals shift in H-1B landscape
The latest NFAP report shows a major change in the H-1B landscape, with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google taking the top four spots for new H-1B approvals. Only three India-based companies are among the top 25 employers for initial H-1B petitions. Petitions for continued employment made up most H-1B filings this year, but rejection rates for initial employment applications rose sharply. HCL America had a higher rate of 6%, followed by LTIMindtree at 5% and Capgemini at 4%.
Certification drop
Decline in software engineer labor certifications
Mansi Singh from law firm BTG Advaya said these trends show companies are focusing more on keeping their existing employees legally employed rather than bringing new skilled workers to the US. Immigration platform Beyond Border has noted a decline in approvals for "software engineers" during the labor certification stage over the last four years. This indicates a reduction not just in visa adjudication but also underlying labor assessments.