Indians are the largest group of beneficiaries of the US H-1B visa programme. But that need not be the case going forward because US President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order extending the existing scrutiny on H-1B visa applications by 12 more months.
The Trump administration's 2025 Proclamation issued last September claimed to improve the integrity of the visa programme by preventing employers from misusing its provisions to undercut or displace US workers.
The White House has now said that the restrictions on entry of certain nonimmigrant workers proved to be highly effective. According to the White House, there was a 92% reduction (a drop from 25,946 to 2,055) in registrations filed by 'the largest IT outsourcing firms' since September 2025.
However, the Trump administration believes the 'underlying conditions' that necessitated the restrictions persist, and as a result, the rule change has been extended till September 21, 2027. The administration has directed US agencies to consider recent or planned layoffs of similarly situated American workers when reviewing fresh applications.
The development poses some important challenges for Indian job seekers: What could tighter H-1B rules mean for their jobs, careers, and the future of migration to the United States?
The H-1B visa is a temporary, non-immigrant US work visa that allows American employers to hire foreign workers in specialised fields such as information technology, healthcare, engineering, science, etc.
These are issued for up to three years initially, with extensions allowed for a total of six years. An H-1B visa doesn’t automatically mean permanent residence in the US. Technology has been one of the biggest areas of H-1B employment, with Indian professionals benefiting the most.
According to the Trump administration, the 2025 Proclamation (Proclamation 10973 - Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers) was issued to combat the alleged abuses of the H-1B visa programme by imposing restrictions "except for those petitions that were accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, subject to very limited exceptions".
The onus of making the payment was on the employers who sought to bring certain H-1B workers who are outside the US. That condition has been renewed, while the latest executive order directs the federal agencies to look more closely at applications when the sponsoring employer has recently laid off, or plans to lay off, US workers in similar positions.
The restriction applies primarily to certain H-1B workers outside the United States who need to enter the country under a covered petition.
The proclamation also states that ‘the Secretary of Homeland Security shall restrict decisions on petitions not accompanied by a $100,000 payment for H-1B speciality occupation workers under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of ‘the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), who are currently outside the United States, for 12 months following the effective date of this proclamation as outlined in subsection (a) of this section’.
It should not be interpreted as a blanket $100,000 charge on every Indian professional who already holds an H-1B visa or every H-1B petition.
The practical effect depends on the worker's circumstances, including whether they are already in the US, whether they are seeking a new petition, and whether the employer is bringing them into the country from abroad.
As the restrictions mostly affect those in the technology sector, India has a bit more concern. That is because Indians have historically been the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa.
That means changes to the programme can have a disproportionate effect on Indian professionals and Indian IT companies that depend on the visa route to send employees to projects in the US.
The immediate impact will depend on employer behaviour and implementation, but the measures could still encourage companies to hire foreign workers.
Indian leaders, including the opposition, have condemned the move. "The impact: F-1. H-1B: Harder for Indian students to enter the US workforce. Fewer jobs: Smaller firms may avoid sponsorships altogether.
Talent drain: More professionals may look to the UK, Canada and Australia. Remittance risk: Lower migration could mean lower remittances to India over time," Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said in a post on X.
(This story is compiled by Mariya Babu)