Key Points
- The Trump administration has imposed a new $100,000 fee for H-1B workers hired from outside the U.S.
- The fee will disproportionately harm major IT outsourcing and staffing firms like Infosys and Tata.
- An analysis found the fee would have cost these firms billions of dollars over the past four years.
- Industry experts predict the fee will lead to a sharp decline in visa demand and push more tech jobs overseas.
A massive new $100,000 fee for H-1B workers hired from abroad, imposed by the Trump administration, could have a devastating impact on the IT outsourcing industry. The fee is the most significant restriction yet on the employment of skilled foreign workers. It appears to directly target major staffing firms that have long been targets of both political parties.
A Bloomberg News analysis found that the fee would disproportionately affect multinational companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Cognizant. These firms act as intermediaries, connecting U.S. companies with skilled H-1B workers, most of whom are hired from abroad.
Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 90% of new H-1B hires at these three companies would have been subject to the fee, resulting in billions of dollars in costs.
For Infosys alone, the fee would have applied to more than 10,400 workers, totaling more than $1 billion in additional charges.
Even if legal challenges succeed in blocking the fee, industry experts expect it will cause a steep drop in visa demand and push more jobs overseas. “We’re already seeing that happen,” said immigration attorney Jonathan Wasden. “The fear is that if you have truly exceptional talent overseas, those people are definitely going to be missing out.”
The White House says the fee will discourage companies from “spamming the system and driving down wages.” However, many employers aren’t waiting for the outcome of lawsuits and are already adjusting their hiring plans, with some predicting a new wave of offshoring to countries like India.
