H-1B visa approvals face massive drop — Top 7 Indian companies got only 4,573 nods in FY25; why it matters
According to a National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) analysis of USCIS data, the top seven India-based companies saw a massive 70% decline in the number of H-1B visa approvals for initial employment in FY25 compared with FY 2015.
The analysis reveals that the top seven India-based companies approved only 4,573 H-1B visa petitions for initial employment in FY25. This represents a 70% decrease from FY 2015 and a 37% decrease from FY 2024.
“H-1B petitions for initial employment are primarily for new employment; these cases count toward the annual H-1B limit of 65,000 for companies, with a 20,000 exemption for individuals with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university,” the analysis said.
It was revealed that only three India-based companies were among the top 25 employers to approve H-1B visa petitions for primary employment in FY25.
How do Indian companies compare to Amazon, Google and Meta?
The analysis found that Indian companies fare much better than India-based companies in terms of H-1B visa approvals.
Amazon received the most H-1B visa approvals for initial employment, with 4,644 in FY25.
Meta Platforms ranked second in the number of H-1B visa applications with 1,555 in the last fiscal year. Microsoft had 1,394 H-1B visa petitions approved, followed by Google with 1,050.
According to Stuart Anderson, executive director of NFAP, these figures show that India-based companies are now turning to offering IT services to the US market using fewer H-1B visas.
“Figures show that India-based companies are now providing IT services to US businesses using relatively few H-1B visas; the largest US tech companies are hiring many people, including fledgling foreign-born graduate students from US universities, to help build AI in the US after investing several hundred billion dollars to develop AI,” he said. news week.
The report also said that as many as 28,277 different employers in the United States were approved to hire at least one new H-1B visa holder in FY25. Fewer employers, 61% approved for a single H-1B petition and 95% approved for 10 or fewer new H-1B visa applications.
More than half of new H-1B petitions went to employers with 15 or fewer approvals for H-1B petitions for initial employment, and 72% went to employers with 100 or fewer approvals, the report said.
Why do H-1B visa approvals matter now?
H-1B visa approvals are currently in the spotlight as President Donald Trump continues his crackdown on immigration and debates erupt over high-skilled immigration, labor shortages and U.S. competitiveness.
Trump, who imposed an exorbitant $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, said the United States did not have enough American talent working in key US industries.
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum recently, Trump said he would “welcome” US skilled immigrants who would “teach” American workers how to develop complex products such as chips and missiles, and noted that he might “get some heat” from his base that supports immigration restrictions.
