India’s H-1B Share Drops to Decade Low as U.S. Rules Tighten

(UNITED STATES) India’s once-dominant position in the U.S. skilled-worker pipeline is slipping as new policy moves raise costs and tighten access to H-1B visas. In the 2024 fiscal year (October–September), Indians obtained 150,647 H-1B visas, or 68.6% of all such visas issued, marking a decade low in share for India. A separate dataset on 2024 approvals places India at 71% (283,397 out of 399,395), still the lowest proportion in more than ten years and a clear sign that the balance is shifting. Both sets of 2024 data tell the same story: India’s share is falling even as demand for talent remains strong.

The decline arrives just as the administration of President Trump introduced a new levy that could reshape employer behavior. In September 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that imposes a one-time $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications. The White House later clarified the charge applies only to new filings, not renewals. The administration argues the fee answers long-standing concerns that some employers have “deliberately exploited” the program to replace, rather than supplement, U.S. workers.

While India still accounts for the majority of H-1B visas, its share is trending lower across key work routes. On the L-1 category—used for intra-company transfers—Indians received 18,578 visas, or 25.9% of total L-1s in 2024. When H-1B and L-1 grants are combined, Indians captured 58.1% of the total in 2024, another historic low. The change reflects business priorities, policy changes, and a growing push by Indian and India-centric firms to hire locally in the 🇺🇸 rather than rely on cross-border placements.

Industry group NASSCOM has highlighted one sign of this shift: among India’s top tech outsourcers, H-1B workers compose less than 1% of their total workforce. If that ratio holds, the immediate operational hit from the new fee may be modest for the biggest firms, even if the long-term costs add up. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, companies have already been moving toward mixed models that balance onshore hiring with robust offshore delivery, trimming exposure to the visa lottery and fee shocks.

Markets, however, have already shown their concern. In the week after the fee announcement, India’s ten largest IT services companies saw a combined market capitalization drop of nearly 8%. A note from Morgan Stanley called the policy change negative, but predicted only a limited short-term impact because many firms planned for tighter U.S. entry routes years ago. Some strategists expect companies will redeploy staff to 🇮🇳 or 🇨🇦 where possible while keeping client delivery intact.

2024 data and changing shares

For much of the past decade, India’s share of H-1B approvals sat comfortably above 70%, peaking even higher in some years. The 2024 data now suggest a steady erosion. Whether measured at 68.6% of issuances (150,647 visas) or 71% of approvals (283,397 out of 399,395), the direction is the same: India’s lead remains large but is no longer expanding.

Tech roles still dominate H-1B allocations, with computer-related occupations taking the bulk of slots—continuing long-standing patterns in the program.

The L-1 picture adds context. With 25.9% of L-1 visas going to Indians in 2024, the accumulated share of H-1B plus L-1 grants for Indian nationals fell to 58.1%, an all-time low. That number matters because many global delivery models depend on using both visa classes—H-1B for new specialty talent and L-1 for senior or specialized firm transfers.

A decline across both channels suggests Indian and India-focused employers are actively reworking how they build U.S. teams. U.S. officials have signaled they want the H-1B system to support American workers while still allowing access to needed skills. The new fee is part of that push.

Businesses say they need clear, consistent rules and realistic costs to plan hiring cycles, especially for niche roles. Employers also warn that if the total cost per hire rises too far, they will make more jobs domestic to the 🇺🇸 labor market or shift work to teams outside the United States. These choices can change where projects happen—and who gets hired for them.

For applicants, the fee adds another barrier on top of the annual H-1B cap and random selection. Large sponsors are better placed to budget six figures for a single new petition if the role is critical. Smaller firms, startups, and research shops may struggle to justify it, even when the need is real. If fewer employers file, the pool could shrink, making offers harder to come by for new graduates and mid-career specialists from India.

Industry response and what to expect

Indian IT and consulting leaders have already moved in five clear ways:

1. Accelerated localization
   • Firms are growing onshore teams in the 🇺🇸, prioritizing U.S. hiring for client-facing roles over visa dispatches.
2. Operational realignments
   • Companies are structuring projects to reduce on-site demand—more modules stay offshore or are split across time zones.
3. Diversification beyond the U.S.
   • Deeper pushes into Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa to balance revenue risk.
4. Talent repositioning
   • Staff with cross-border experience are being moved into leadership and client roles that are less tied to immigration processes.
5. Policy engagement
   • Industry bodies are pursuing clarifications, carve-outs, or phased rollouts of the new fee—with legal challenges possible.

For Indian professionals, these moves mean the path to a U.S. offer may rely less on transfer from an India-based team and more on direct U.S. hiring. Candidates with niche skills, strong client communication, and flexibility on location will likely stand out. Some employers may encourage new hires to start offshore and rotate to the 🇺🇸 later—if costs and slots allow.

Employers say they are also weighing near-term stopgaps:

• Moving H-1B staff to Canada 🇨🇦 to maintain North American time zone coverage
• Using blended teams across the U.S. and India
• Shifting some delivery to centers in Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia

None of these options are perfect substitutes for U.S. work authorization, but they can keep projects on track while costs and rules settle.

Policy, market, and talent implications

The broader H-1B framework still supports specialty occupation hiring when employers can show the job needs a degree-level skill set and pay a fair wage. For official guidance on the program and eligibility, readers can consult the USCIS H-1B program page. Policy watchers say the next few months will tell whether the one-time fee changes filing behavior or if large sponsors absorb the cost for priority roles and scale back elsewhere.

One reason the near-term effect may be muted: many Indian firms already reduced visa dependency, partly in response to tougher adjudications earlier in the decade and the practical limits of the annual cap. That shift made business sense even before the new fee. Now, with 2024 data showing India’s share at a decade low for both H-1B and combined H-1B/L-1 grants, the industry’s long-term direction appears set.

Investors, meanwhile, are trying to gauge how much of the policy shock is already priced into valuations. The 8% weekly erosion among India’s top IT services firms after the fee announcement suggests fear of near-term disruption. Yet analysts note fundamentals—client demand for cloud, AI, and cybersecurity work—remain strong. The real pressure point is cost-to-serve in the 🇺🇸 and the speed of backfilling roles if fewer H-1B visas are filed or approved.

For policymakers, the trade-off is delicate. A program that is seen as fair and protective of local workers must also remain practical for employers who genuinely need specialized skills. If the balance tilts too far, work may move offshore or to third countries, reducing domestic spillovers such as taxes, consumer spending, and knowledge transfer. If done well, the system can support both goals: strong local hiring and targeted international recruitment.

Indian students and early-career professionals are also watching closely. Many plan their education paths with H-1B visas in mind. A higher entry cost could push some to consider other destinations, or to pursue roles where sponsorship is rare but possible due to acute skill shortages. Others may opt for remote-first careers with global firms, expecting travel rather than long-term relocation.

The most immediate reality is practical: employers will file for roles they cannot fill locally, and they will skip filings that do not clear an internal cost and risk bar. That calculus is changing because of the $100,000 levy. If filings fall, India’s share could dip again in future cycles, even if total U.S. demand stays high.

For now, 2024 stands as a marker. India remains the largest source of H-1B talent by a wide margin, but its share—whether 68.6% by issuance count or 71% by approval count—is moving down. Combined with a 58.1% share across H-1B and L-1, the tilt away from heavy visa dispatching and toward local U.S. hiring appears baked in. VisaVerge.com reports that this structural change has been underway for years; the new fee simply speeds it up.

Employers, workers, and students from India will adapt by changing routes, building skills, and choosing markets that fit their goals. In the end, visa policy is one piece of a larger puzzle that includes wages, client demand, and technology cycles. The 2024 data and the fee move suggest the U.S. channel will stay open, but tighter—and more expensive—than before.