Indian information technology stocks have fallen after US President Donald Trump imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, a move seen as a challenge to the sector’s long-standing model of sending skilled workers to the United States.
Trump announced on Friday that companies would have to pay higher fees for new H-1B visas. Last year, 71 percent of approved beneficiaries were Indians.
The White House later clarified that the fee will apply only to new applicants, not existing holders or renewals, and that it is a one-off payment, not annual. It will take effect from the 2026 visa cycle, giving companies time to adjust by hiring more locally.
The clarification helped ease some initial panic, which had seen H-1B holders rushing back to the United States, fearing they could be barred from re-entry.
Nasscom, India’s IT industry body, said the move reduced uncertainty. Still, it expects the new cost to have at least a marginal impact on the sector.
Analysts said even a one-time $100,000 fee is prohibitive. India’s $283 billion IT sector, which derives around 57 percent of its revenue from the US, has long benefited from visa programmes and outsourcing.
‘A mere decimal point’
Nasscom stressed that H-1B workers make up only “a mere decimal point” of the overall US workforce.
IT companies have been reducing their reliance on H-1B visas. "The industry is spending more than $1 billion on local upskilling and hiring in the US, and the number of local hires has increased tremendously," Nasscom said.
Markets reacted swiftly. The tech sub-index dropped 2.6 percent on Monday, after an initial drop of nearly 4 percent after Indian IT industry body Nasscom said the US had clarified that the higher fees will only apply to new H-1B applications.
In US trading on Friday, Infosys shares fell 3.4 percent and Wipro 2.1 percent. On Monday, all 10 stocks on the tech sub-index declined, led by Persistent Systems at 4 percent. IT majors TCS, Wipro and Infosys were down about 2 percent each.
So far this year, IT stocks have been the worst performers, falling 15.6 percent versus a 7.1 percent gain in the benchmark Nifty 50 index.
