Everyone thought it was the end. When the news broke in September 2025 about the $100,000 H-1B visa fee, the panic in the Indian IT corridors was real. You could almost feel the collective intake of breath from Bengaluru to Noida. For years, the H-1B has been the lifeblood of the "onshore-offshore" model, and suddenly, the "onshore" part looked like it was being priced out of existence.
But here we are in 2026. The world didn't stop.
Honestly, if you look at the data, the narrative that Indian companies are just "visa shops" has been dead for a while. We’re seeing a massive structural pivot. The latest numbers from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) show that the top seven Indian tech giants—think TCS, Infosys, and HCL—secured only 4,573 new H-1B approvals in FY 2025. That is a staggering 70% drop from a decade ago.
It’s a different game now.
The Myth of the Cheap Labor Loophole
There's this persistent idea that indian tech firms h-1b visas are used to flood the US with cheap labor. Kinda funny when you look at the actual payroll. By 2024, the median salary for H-1B professionals in computer-related roles hit $125,000, with many clearing $136,000. When you add the new $100,000 fee, the "cheap labor" argument basically falls apart.
Why would a company pay a six-figure salary plus a six-figure entry fee if they just wanted to save a buck? They wouldn't.
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What's actually happening is a shift toward "Continuing Employment." Most of the H-1B activity for firms like TCS and Wipro isn't about bringing in new people; it’s about keeping the ones who are already there. In FY 2025, TCS alone had 5,293 extension approvals. These are the veterans—the architects and project leads who know the client's legacy systems inside out. You don't replace those people with a local hire overnight, no matter how much the visa costs.
Who’s Actually Winning the Visa Race?
If you think Indian firms are still dominating the H-1B lottery, you've got it wrong. For the first time ever, the top four spots for new H-1B approvals are held by US Big Tech: Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google.
Amazon topped the list with 4,644 initial approvals last year. Meta and Microsoft followed closely. The irony is thick here. The very rules intended to "protect" American jobs are being utilized most aggressively by the American giants to bring in specialized AI and machine learning talent.
- Amazon: 4,644 new visas (FY 2025)
- Meta: 1,555 new visas
- Microsoft: 1,394 new visas
- Google: 1,050 new visas
- TCS: 846 new visas
TCS is the only Indian firm even in the top five. The rest have basically left the building.
The 2026 Wage-Based Selection Shift
Beginning February 27, 2026, the game changes again. The old lottery—where everyone had an equal, random shot—is being scrapped for a wage-weighted system.
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Basically, if you’re a Level IV (the highest-paid, most senior) applicant, your chances of getting a visa just jumped by 107%. If you’re a Level I entry-level grad, your odds just tanked to about 15%. This is a deliberate "sorting hat" designed to keep the seniors and boot the juniors.
For Indian firms, this means the end of the "freshers in the US" era. If you're going to pay $100,000 just for the privilege of applying, you're only going to do it for someone who is absolutely indispensable.
Nearshoring: The Mexican and Polish Pivot
So, where is the work going? It's not all staying in India.
Firms like Coforge are making massive moves. Their $2.35 billion acquisition of Encora wasn't just a business flex; it was a strategic land grab in the nearshoring space. By setting up massive delivery centers in Mexico, Poland, and Canada, Indian tech firms are offering clients the same time zone as the US without the $100,000 visa headache.
It's actually pretty smart. You get the "near-site" benefits—meaning you can jump on a Zoom call during normal business hours—but the regulatory risk is zero. Estimates from firms like Xpheno suggest that the H-1B crackdown actually pushed around 32,000 jobs to India and other offshore locations in late 2025 alone.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the "Crackdown"
People think these companies are "losing."
Honestly, they're just re-optimizing. Most Indian IT vendors now have only 3% to 5% of their total global workforce on H-1B visas. The vast majority of their employees—about 80%—work offshore. When the US raises visa fees or tightens rules, it only affects a tiny sliver of their operations.
But it does hurt the "Documented Dreamers." These are the kids of H-1B holders who grew up in the US and are now facing deportation because they've "aged out" of their H-4 status. That's the human cost that doesn't show up in the quarterly earnings of Infosys or Wipro.
Actionable Insights for 2026
If you're an employer or a professional navigating the current indian tech firms h-1b visas landscape, here is the ground reality:
- For Tech Pros: Stop aiming for Level I or II roles if you want a visa. The new 2026 rules favor high-wage, specialized roles. If you aren't in AI, Cybersecurity, or Cloud Architecture, your visa odds are slim.
- For Companies: The $100,000 fee is currently under legal challenge, but don't count on it disappearing. Budget for a 15-20% increase in on-site project costs.
- The L-1 Alternative: We're seeing more firms pivot to L-1 (intracompany transfer) visas. They have their own set of hurdles, but they bypass the H-1B lottery mess.
- Hire Local (For Real): Companies like Infosys have already set up "Reskill America" hubs. If you're a US-based grad, the leverage has never been higher to get hired by an Indian firm.
The "Golden Age" of the H-1B as a mass-migration tool for IT is over. What’s left is a highly competitive, expensive, and niche program reserved for the absolute top tier of global talent. Indian firms haven't been defeated; they’ve just moved the goalposts to Mexico and Bengaluru.
The work still gets done. It just happens on a different set of coordinates.