![\"\"](\"https:\/\/primexnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Trump-hikes-H-1B-visa-annual-fee-to-100000-Infosys-Cognizant-stocks-tumble.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
New Delhi [India], September 20:<\/b> Donald Trump just slapped a $100,000 annual fee on every H-1B visa. Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro, and even US tech giants felt the sting as stocks nosedived.<\/span><\/p>\n On September 19, Donald Trump signed a proclamation that changes the math of global tech. Every H-1B visa will now cost companies $100,000 a year. Forget tweaks, this is the most expensive gut punch in the visa program\u2019s history.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump\u2019s pitch was blunt: \u201cHire Americans first.\u201d Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added numbers to the chest-thumping, over $100 billion in new revenue for the US Treasury, earmarked for tax cuts and debt trimming.<\/span><\/p>\n As if to sweeten the poison pill, the White House unveiled a \u201cGold Card\u201d visa: residency for foreigners of \u201cextraordinary ability\u201d willing to drop $1\u20132 million into the US economy. Translation: pay to play.<\/span><\/p>\n Infosys fell 4.5% in New York. Cognizant dropped 4.3%. Wipro slid 3.4%. Accenture bled too, though less. Together, billions evaporated in one Friday session.<\/span><\/p>\n Why the pain? Because Indian IT lives on H-1Bs. TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, HCLTech, and LTIMindtree ship thousands of engineers to US projects every year. It\u2019s how they cut costs, beat local hiring rates, and stay competitive.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, with 13,396 H-1B visas in play, the annual cost jumps from $13.4 million to $1.34 billion. That\u2019s 10% of their collective FY25 net profits, gone.<\/span><\/p>\n It isn\u2019t just an Indian headache. Silicon Valley thrives on H-1B talent, Amazon, Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, NVIDIA, the list goes on. Many of those hires are Indian engineers.<\/span><\/p>\n Seema Srivastava of SMC Global Securities broke it down: \u201cWith the $100,000 fee, staffing costs will surge. Expect firms to reserve H-1Bs for only critical senior roles. Junior and mid-level hiring? Dead in the water.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So US firms get two ugly choices:<\/span><\/p>\n The sell-off was swift. Investors hate cost shocks, and this is as blunt as they come. Brokerages are already downgrading Indian IT, warning of margin compression and client pushback.<\/span><\/p>\n Edelweiss Securities summed it up: \u201cMarkets are discounting higher staffing expenses. Monday\u2019s session in India will be brutal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n For now, traders are treating Indian IT like dead weight.<\/span><\/p>\n The H-1B program has been the bridge between Bengaluru and Silicon Valley for decades. Indian engineers built America\u2019s tech backbone, from cloud platforms to AI labs. That bridge just got a toll gate the size of a skyscraper.<\/span><\/p>\n Impact lines are clear:<\/span><\/p>\n Bottom line: innovation slows when politics starts writing HR policy.<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect Infosys and Wipro to roll over. They\u2019re already hedging:<\/span><\/p>\n The $100,000 fee stings, but Indian IT has been here before, visa crackdowns, economic slowdowns, and even COVID. They adapt, or they die. And they don\u2019t plan on dying.<\/span><\/p>\nTrump\u2019s $100,000 H-1B Fee: The Hammer Falls<\/b><\/h3>\n
Indian IT: First in Line for the Hit<\/b><\/h3>\n
US Tech Giants: Don\u2019t Laugh, You\u2019re Next<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n
Market Bloodbath: From Wall Street to Dalal Street<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n
The Bigger Picture: India\u2013US Tech Ties on Ice<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n
Indian IT\u2019s Counterpunch<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n
Lobbying, Diplomacy, and Damage Control<\/b><\/h3>\n