Immigration expert sees sharp drop in H-1B visa filings

Immigration adept present accidental that the fig of applications for the H-1B visa for skilled non-immigrant workers has plunged by arsenic overmuch arsenic 50% arsenic compared to past twelvemonth aft the sweeping argumentation changes nether the Trump administration.

As reported by Economic Times, the migration experts consciousness that the hiked interest is 1 of the crushed for this decline.

“We are down astir 50% filings compared to the erstwhile twelvemonth partially owed to the $100,000 interest for H-1B petitions and partially owed to wage-based selection,” Rajiv Khanna, managing manager astatine Immigration.com told Economic Times.

New H-1B visa rules present reshape the demand

The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) opened registration for fiscal 2026 connected March 4, with the model closing connected March 9.

Usually, astir 400,000 petitions are filed annually, of which 85,000 are selected done a lottery. But lawyer Shilpa Malik of VisaNation Law Group expects filings to autumn to betwixt 250,000 and 300,000 this year.

The H-1B visa model which introduced the $100,000 interest for caller registrations and a wage-based lottery strategy has turned retired to beryllium a disadvantage for entry-level occupation roles. While USCIS has clarified that the hiked interest does not use to F-1 students changing presumption to H-1B, attorneys accidental request is inactive lower.

Impact connected the employers

The experts besides enactment that the sharpest interaction of this accrued interest is connected the IT outsourcing firms and employers that historically relied connected high-volume, entry-level filings. “That exemplary is becoming economically unsustainable,” Malik said. Big tech companies, meanwhile, are expected to prosecute much selectively, focusing connected elder and specialized roles that bid higher wages.Indians, who accounted for 71% of each approved H-1B visas successful FY24, are among the hardest hit. Lower-wage graduates look reduced likelihood nether the weighted lottery, portion outsourcing giants similar Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys—among the apical H-1B employers—must accommodate to the caller rules.