In fiscal year 2024, the top seven Indian IT companies collectively saw only 7,299 H-1B visa petitions for new employment approved, marking a dramatic decrease from the 14,792 approvals reported in fiscal year 2015. This analysis, conducted by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a non-partisan think tank based in the United States, highlights a significant downward trend in approvals for these firms.
The 7,299 approvals accounted for just 5.2% of the total H-1B visa approvals for FY24, equating to a mere 0.004% of the US civilian workforce. Denial rates for H-1B visa applications remained low, recorded at 2.5%, a slight drop from 3.5% in FY23, according to the NFAP findings.
The report also cautioned that denial rates could rise if the incoming Trump Administration reinstates the restrictive immigration policies seen during his first term.
In terms of individual company performance, Amazon led the pack with 3,871 H-1B approvals for initial employment—down from 4,052 in FY23 and 6,396 in FY22. Following Amazon were Cognizant with 2,837 approvals, Infosys with 2,504, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with 1,452. Other notable companies included IBM (1,348), Microsoft (1,264), HCL America (1,248), Google (1,058), Capgemini (1,041), and Meta Platforms (920).
Interestingly, Tesla, led by Elon Musk, made notable strides this year, achieving a significant increase in H-1B approvals and securing the 16th position among employers after not appearing in the top 25 in previous years. Tesla received 742 approvals in FY24, more than double its totals of 328 in FY23 and 337 in FY22. The report indicated that Tesla's H-1B visa requests stemmed from its needs in manufacturing, research and development, and engineering roles, among others.
However, according to another report, Indian IT firms TCS, Wipro, Infosys, and HCL have decreased their use of the H-1B visa by 56%.
This divergence highlights a shift in tactics; Indian firms that have successfully established operations in the United States are increasingly focusing on recruiting local talent and offering Green Card sponsorships to attract skilled professionals.
According to Vic Goel, managing partner at Goel & Anderson, a US corporate immigration law firm, the growing demand for H-1B visa holders is largely driven by the need for specialised skills in fast-evolving fields such as digital transformation, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. "U.S. companies must rely on H-1B visas to fill roles with skills not easily found domestically, especially in emerging tech,” Goel commented, as reported by Economic Times.