Indian tech companies take a fifth of all US H-1B visas: Infosys, TCS, Cognizant lead the pack

24,766 out of the total 1.3 lakh H-1B visas were issued to Indian-origin companies in the April-September 2024 period

Tech companies originating from India took over a fifth of all H1B visas issued by the US, according to a report by news agency PTI which cited an analysis by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The US H-1B visa programme allows US companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. (Representational Image/Pixabay)

24,766 out of the total 1.3 lakh H-1B visas were issued to Indian-origin companies in the April-September 2024 period, according to the report.

Infosys, which got 8,140 visas, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) which got 5,274 visas, and Cognizant which got 6,321 visas, led the pack among these companies.

Wipro was down lower this time with 1,634 visas, with Tech Mahindra coming close by, getting 1,199 visas.

Infosys being the one to secure most visas among Indian companies, was actually second among all the companies in the list. The first was Amazon.com Services LLC, which topped the list with 9,265 visas.

The US H-1B visa programme allows US companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. Indian companies have been significant beneficiaries of this programme, especially in the tech sector.

Even Elon Musk, the world's richest person with a net worth of $437 billion was once, a former H-1B visa holder.

His company, electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla uses this programme, with Musk publicly supporting the tech industry's reliance on foreign workers, passionately advocating for preserving America as a land of freedom and opportunity.

Musk's statement was also backed by newly elected Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose first administration had actually restricted the programme in 2020, arguing that it allows businesses to replace Americans with lower-paid foreign workers.