Indian IT Firms Secure Lowest Number of H-1B Visas in a Decade

The landscape of skilled foreign employment in the United States has undergone a dramatic transformation, evidenced by the sharp drop in approvals of H-1B visas for major Indian IT firms.

According to a policy brief by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), the top seven Indian IT services companies secured just 4,573 H-1B petitions for initial employment in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.

This figure marks the lowest approval count in a decade, representing a massive 70% decline from 2015 and a 37% drop compared to FY 2024.

The data, sourced from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, confirms that the traditional model of Indian outsourcing firms dominating the H-1B visa landscape has fundamentally shifted.

US Tech Giants Dominate New H-1B Visas

The vacuum left by the Indian IT sector has been swiftly filled by major US product-based technology companies.

For the first time, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google now occupy the top four positions for securing new H-1B approvals.

This trend indicates that US tech giants are increasingly hiring foreign graduates directly to build specialized systems, particularly in emerging fields like Artificial Intelligence (AI).

In contrast, only three India-based companies appear among the top 25 employers for initial H-1B petitions in FY 2025.

This divergence underscores a strategic shift: American companies are leveraging the visa program to attract high-skilled, often higher-paid, workers domestically, while Indian firms are facing increased scrutiny and higher rejection rates for new visa applications.

Increased Scrutiny and Rising Denial Rates

While petitions for continuing employment (renewals) maintain low denial rates across the board for major firms, initial employment denials have risen sharply, particularly for outsourcing companies.

Although the overall rejection rate for initial H-1B petitions edged up slightly to 2.8%, Indian companies consistently face tougher adjudication.

For instance, HCL America recorded a 6% denial rate for initial petitions, and LTIMindtree saw 5%, while US tech leaders often maintain denial rates below 1%.

Furthermore, this decline is compounded by heightened anti-fraud safeguards, increased compliance costs, and significant policy pressures.

These factors are compelling Indian IT majors to accelerate their shift toward local hiring in the US, nearshoring, and adopting automation, reducing their reliance on the once-critical visa route for staffing US projects.

Industry analysts suggest the H-1B program is increasingly becoming a mechanism for holding existing employees in the green card queue rather than serving as a primary pathway for bringing new talent overseas.

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