Indian IT firms see 70 per cent drop in H-1B approvals as US tech giants dominate hiring

Indian-based IT companies have experienced a dramatic 70 per cent decline in H-1B visa approvals for initial employment between FY2015 and FY2025, according to a National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) analysis of USCIS data.

In FY2025, the top seven Indian IT firms received just 4,573 approvals for new H-1B workers—37% fewer than in FY2024. The NFAP notes that initial-employment H-1B petitions typically count toward the annual quota of 65,000, with an additional 20,000 slots reserved for advanced U.S. degree holders.

Only three India-based companies made it into the list of the top 25 H-1B-hiring employers in FY2025.

How Indian IT firms compare with Amazon, Google and Meta

US tech giants far outpaced Indian companies in H-1B approvals:

Amazon led with 4,644 approvals for initial employment.

Meta Platforms followed with 1,555 approvals.

Microsoft received 1,394, and

Google secured 1,050 approvals.

Stuart Anderson, NFAP’s executive director, said the data indicates Indian IT companies are increasingly delivering services to US clients with fewer H-1B workers. In contrast, major US tech firms continue to hire large numbers of highly skilled workers—including foreign-born graduates from American universities—to support major investments in artificial intelligence.

Broader trends

The report also shows that 28,277 US employers received approval to hire at least one new H-1B worker in FY2025. Most were small-scale users of the visa programme:

61% were approved for just one petition, and

95% had 10 or fewer initial H-1B approvals.