Indian IT firms in 2024 had secured one-fifth of the total H-1B visas issued by the United States, according to data published by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). I-T giants like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL, Wipro, Tech Mahindra were among the top beneficiaries. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon remained the highest receiver of H-1B visa approvals in 2024.The H-1B non-immigrant visa program permits temporary employment of foreign skilled workers in the United States.Also Read | Infosys, Wipro, TCS, other IT stocks fall up to 3% after Accenture Q2 resultsBetween April and September last year, a whopping 24,766 of the 130,000 H-1B visas were granted to Indian-origin companies alone, according to USCIS data.Which I-T company had the highest share in that? Was it Infosys? Was is TCS? Was it Wipro, Tech Mahindra, or Cognizant?According to the USCIS data, Narayana Murthy’s Infosys bagged a total of 8,140 H-1B visas in 2024 alone. This was the highest an Indian I-T company received in a year. Infosys came second to Amazon in 2024.Infosys was followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – 5,274 visas, HCL America – 2,953, Wipro – 1,634 visas, and Tech Mahindra – 1,199 visas.Also Read | Accenture flags macroeconomic fears, casts shadow over global and Indian ITTop Companies with Highest H-1B visa approvals in 2024Amazon – 9,265 approvalsInfosys – 8,140 approvalsCognizant – 6,321 approvalsGoogle – 5,364 approvalsTCS – 5,274 approvalsMeta Platforms – 4,844 approvalsMicrosoft – 4,725 approvalsApple – 3,873 approvalsHCL America – 2,953 approvalsIBM Corporation – 2,906 approvalsAccording to Pew report, India remains the top nation for H-1B visa recipients. Since 2010, Indian workers have consistently got the majority of H-1B visas.In 2023, 73 per cent of approved H-1B visa applicants were from India, followed by China with 12 per cent. No other country could get more than 2 per cent of the H-1B visa approvals, the report added.Also Read | Trump regime fires over 400 DHS employees in effort to cut workforceIn 2024, 65 per cent of the H-1B visa approvals (258,196 applications) were renewals, while 35 per cent (141,207 applications) were for new employment.Trump Govt Implements Changes to H-1B visaThe Donald Trump administration is implementing changes to the H-1B visa program, potentially impacting how IT companies recruit skilled foreign workers.Starting March 20, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rolled out a revamped system designed to be more transparent and efficient.These reforms include deleting H-1B records older than five years from the Foreign Labor Access Gateway (FLAG) system and wiping all temporary labour condition applications.One significant change is the new selection method, where USCIS will select beneficiaries rather than applications, preventing large firms from overwhelming the system with multiple filings for the same individual.The registration fee has increased from $10 to $215.The en
