H-1B Visa Holders Might be Rehired! Thanks to India’s Fintech Industry

India's fintech industry will save the H-1B visa holders in the middle of the huge layoffs.

As US President Donald Trump exited the White House on January 20 and his successor Joe Biden took over, a host of industries in the US breathed a sigh of relief. Among other things, Trump's exit ended the four years of a relentless crackdown on the H-1B visa program, which enables companies to hire immigrants and fill up critical positions in the US.

Even as Indian tech workers make up the bulk of H-1B recipients, it is not Indian companies that are hiring them. Over the years, companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro, have reduced dependence on H-1B to protect their businesses from any sudden policy changes. This shift began well before the visa program was beaten and bruised by the Trump administration, and now, even as the Indian IT industry gets over 65% of its revenue from the US, H-1B is not nearly as indispensable for these firms as it once was.

Introduced in 1990, the H-1B visa program is a temporary, non-immigrant visa category that allows highly skilled foreign workers to live and work in the US for up to six years. In the 1990s, the program was a big help for India's now nearly $200 billion IT sector as it allowed companies to send cheaper Indian workers to the US. In 2010, for instance, Infosys employees bagged the highest number of visas. Things changed over the years. By 2018, Facebook, Amazon, and Google had become the biggest beneficiaries of H-1B. By 2019, Infosys and TCS were not only getting fewer visas than their American counterparts, but they also received the most H-1B denials.

Now, over 60% of the US employees at the top four Indian IT companies – TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Tech – are citizens of the country, according to research by Japanese financial holding firm Nomura. Four years ago, Infosys vowed to create 10,000 jobs in the US. Since then, it has opened up hubs in Indianapolis and Connecticut and stepped up hiring. TCS – the top employer in the US – has hired over 21,500 associates in the country in the past five years.

By 2022, it plans to recruit 10,000 more local employees and by 2028, it will invest upwards of $100 million (Rs 7,272 crore) in Austin, Texas. Rival Wipro has also doubled hiring in the Americas in the last four years.