Tata and Infosys to Bear Brunt of Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Worker Fee – Yahoo Finance

(Bloomberg) —

President Donald Trump’s $100,000 price tag for new H-1B workers hired from outside the US could have punishing effects for the IT outsourcing and staffing industries that have long been a target of both parties.

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The fee is the biggest restriction the Trump administration has imposed so far on employment of skilled foreign workers.

A Bloomberg News analysis found it could have a disproportionate impact on multinational staffing firms that act as middlemen for companies seeking H-1B workers. Those middlemen include Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.

Almost 90% of new H-1B hires at those three companies between May 2020 and May 2024 were approved at US consulates. The workers would have cost each of them hundreds of millions more if the fee had been in effect.

More than 93% of new Infosys H-1B hires in that timeframe—upwards of 10,400 workers—would have been hit with the $100,000 fee, according to the Bloomberg analysis, adding up to more than a billion dollars in visa charges.

Tata would have had to pay the fee for 6,500 workers over that period, or 82% of newly approved H-1B workers. Cognizant would be faced with the charge for more than 5,600 employees, or 89% of new H-1B hires.

Even if legal challenges are successful in quickly blocking the fee, industry observers expect it will to lead to a steep drop in visa demand and drive placement of more workers overseas.

“We’re already seeing that happen,” said immigration attorney Jonathan Wasden, who represents many IT employers. “The fear is that if you have truly exceptional talent overseas, those people are definitely going to be missing out.”

Some firms say that the fee will have little effect on their operations in the short run.

“The recently announced Proclamation is expected to have limited near-term impact on Cognizant’s operations,” said Cognizant spokesman Jeff DeMarrais. “Over the past several years, we have significantly reduced our reliance on visas, using them only for select technology roles that supplement our U.S. workforce.”

Dominant H-1B Firms

Large tech and IT firms have traditionally dominated the H-1B program, the primary pathway to US careers for foreign workers with at least a bachelor’s degree. They claim most of the 85,000 visa slots available each year.