Fewer H-1B Visas Used By Indian IT Companies, More Going To US Firms: Report

Indian IT majors TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra bagged 6,973 H-1B visa approvals in financial year 2017, a mere 39 per cent among the top 10 employers in terms of H-1B visa approvals. This is one of the findings of an analysis of H-1B visa approvals by Washington-based non-profit think-tank NFAP or National Foundation for American Policy. Also, top seven Indian IT companies - including TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra - experienced a whopping 43 per cent drop in their H-1B visa approvals between 2015 and 2017, NFAP said in its report on H-1B work visa, popular among Indian IT workers. H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers. The top 10 employers in terms of H-1B visa approvals in the NFAP report were Cognizant, Amazon, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Infosys, Google and Wipro, in that order. "More H-1B visas are going to US technology companies, reflecting the strong demand for high-skilled talent in the US economy, and fewer visas are being used by Indian-based companies, which continues a recent trend," NFAP said in its report.

Here are 10 things to know on H-1B visa and the latest report by NFAP:

1. 8,468 new H-1B visas for Indian-based companies in the financial year 2017 equaled only 0.006 per cent of the 160 million in the US labour force, according to the NFAP report. 

(Also read: "Most Bullish In A Decade" On Indian IT: Why Some Analysts Are Positive)

2. "(US) Congress and the administration should focus on reforms to raise the annual number of H-1B visas, increase the labor mobility of H-1B visa holders, raise the employment-based green card quota and eliminate the per country limit," the US-based think-tank said.