# H-1B Visas Rule Changes Under Trump in 2025 https://belitsoft.com/news/h-1b-visas-rule-changes-20250919 ## What Are H-1B Visas? Congress created H-1B visas in 1990 to let US companies hire foreign workers with specialized skills. The visa lasts three years and can be extended once for another three years. Six years total maximum. Employers pay about $5,000 in fees per worker. The visa doesn't lead to a green card automatically - that's a separate process. Tech companies, hospitals, engineering firms, banks, and universities use H-1B visas most. Companies must prove they couldn't find qualified Americans for the job before hiring someone on an H-1B visa. Each year, the government approves 65,000 H-1B visas through a lottery system. They approve an additional 20,000 for people who earned master's degrees or PhDs from US universities. That's 85,000 total. If you get approved, you can bring your spouse and unmarried children under 21. This year, over 470,000 people applied. Many companies submit multiple applications for the same person to boost their odds in the lottery. Even if you're perfectly qualified, you may lose the lottery. Amazon hired the most H-1B workers last year. Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google were next. About half a million people work in the US on H-1B visas. They renew every three years. Famous H-1B visa holders include Melania Trump, who came in 1996 and became a citizen. ## Who the H‑1B Visa Rule Changes Affect An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security [says](https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/h-1b-faq) that if you have an approved petition filed before 12:01 a.m. ET on September 21, 2025, or already hold a valid H‑1B visa, you’re safe. The White House confirmed Saturday it doesn't affect current visa holders. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt [said](https://x.com/PressSec/status/1969495900478488745) the $100,000 applies "only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders." Current H-1B holders can leave and return to the US normally. ### H-1B visas approved by country in FY 2024 H-1B visas approved by country in FY 2024 Place of Birth Total Number India283,755 China46,722 Philippines5,258 Canada4,227 Korea, South3,987 Mexico3,335 Taiwan3,103 Pakistan3,055 Brazil2,641 Nigeria2,275 Nepal2,157 United Kingdom1,727 Colombia1,646 Turkey1,432 France1,281 Iran1,237 Vietnam1,213 Bangladesh1,173 Spain1,043 Germany1,030 Russia994 Japan991 Italy989 Ghana984 Jamaica851 Chile820 Egypt817 Saudi Arabia811 Venezuela757 Singapore675 Malaysia625 Lebanon586 Argentina569 Peru562 Kenya559 Hong Kong542 Indonesia535 Sri Lanka530 Australia499 Israel496 United Arab Emirates460 Ukraine451 Jordan448 Greece447 Ecuador428 South Africa423 Thailand422 Ireland372 Poland344 Ethiopia305 Zimbabwe271 Honduras270 Dominican Republic240 Trinidad And Tobago236 Netherlands227 Romania224 Costa Rica220 Unknown217 Kuwait196 Kazakhstan188 Belgium178 Morocco176 El Salvador172 Sweden168 Bahamas, The165 Switzerland158 Serbia150 Uganda149 Syria148 Guatemala147 Cameroon145 New Zealand144 Portugal141 Mongolia130 Hungary126 Iraq120 Austria116 Bulgaria112 Oman109 Albania108 Rwanda106 Burma104 Belarus103 Panama103 Bolivia102 Uzbekistan100 Czechia86 Armenia86 Tunisia85 Georgia82 Azerbaijan82 Libya79 Slovakia76 Croatia73 Bahrain69 Denmark66 Kyrgyzstan66 Sudan65 Tanzania64 Côte d’Ivoire62 Norway61 Nicaragua59 Uruguay58 Algeria57 Qatar57 Bosnia And Herzegovina55 Haiti55 Paraguay53 Soviet Union50 Lithuania48 Zambia48 Finland46 Turkmenistan44 Guyana42 Afghanistan42 Cyprus42 Congo (Kinshasa)42 Cambodia40 Senegal39 Mauritius38 Dominica37 Barbados35 Macau34 Malawi33 Iceland33 North Macedonia32 Moldova31 Botswana28 Montenegro27 Kosovo26 Yemen26 Latvia26 Tajikistan26 Slovenia24 Belize24 Antigua And Barbuda23 Grenada23 Angola23 Saint Lucia22 Palestine (Born Before 1948)21 Burkina Faso21 Gambia, The18 Benin18 Bermuda17 Eswatini17 Sierra Leone17 Mali15 Estonia15 Curaçao14 Cuba13 Gabon12 Namibia12 Somalia12 Liberia12 Burundi11 Mozambique11 Madagascar11 Brunei10 Fiji10 German Democratic Republic10 Saint Kitts And Nevis9 Congo (Brazzaville)9 Togo9 Niger9 Guinea7 Yugoslavia6 Bhutan6 Papua New Guinea6 Sint Maarten6 Malta6 Mauritania5 Equatorial Guinea5 Cabo Verde5 Saint Vincent And The Grenadines5 Luxembourg5 Northern Ireland4 Lesotho4 Chad4 Monaco4 Isle Of Man4 Aruba4 Zaire4 Martinique4 Gibraltar4 Djibouti3 South Sudan3 Czechoslovakia3 Suriname3 Cayman Islands3 Anguilla3 Laos2 Eritrea2 Andorra2 Virgin Islands, British2 Netherlands Antilles2 Comoros1 Tonga1 Guadeloupe1 French Polynesia1 Seychelles1 Guinea-Bissau1 Maldives1 Northern Mariana Islands1 Solomon Islands1 Turks And Caicos Islands1 Liechtenstein1 Source: USCIS ### H-1B visas approved by field in FY 2024 A total of 399,395 H-1B visas were approved in FY 2024 H-1B visas approved by field in FY 2024 Occupation Number of visas Percentage Computer-related255,25064% Architecture, Engineering and Surveying40,66910% Education23,7786% Administrative specializations21,6695% Medicine and Health16,9374% Math and Physical Sciences11,2463% Life Sciences7,3932% Managers and officials6,6222% Professional, technical and managerial4,8991% Social Sciences3,3851% Unknown2,6991% Law and Jurisprudence1,8191% Art1,7430% Museum, Library and Archival Sciences3970% Miscellaneous3370% Writing2700% Entertainment and Recreation1470% Religion and Theology1230% Sales and Promotions120% Source: USCIS ### Top 10 employers of H-1B visa holders as of June 2025 Data as of June 30, 2025. Source: USCIS Employer name H-1B holders Amazon Com Services LLC10,044 Tata Consultancy Services Limited5,505 Microsoft Corporation5,189 Meta Platforms INC5,123 Apple INC4,202 Google LLC4,181 Cognizant Tech Solutions US Corp2,493 JPMorgan Chase and Co2,440 Wal-Mart Associates INC2,390 Deloitte Consulting LLP2,353 ### Incomes in dollars for workers with H-1B visas approved in FY 2024 Source: USCIS Occupation Median income for new employees Median income for continuing employees Computer-related$101K$135K Architecture, Engineering and Surveying$97K$126K Education$68K$140K Administrative specializations$94K$76K Medicine and Health$80K$141K Math and Physical Sciences$104K$140K Life Sciences$77K$100K Managers and officials$110K$155K Professional, technical and managerial$125K$162K Social Sciences$97K$130K Unknown$82K$124K Law and Jurisprudence$207K$230K Art$80K$112K Museum, Library and Archival Sciences$93K$145K Miscellaneous$53K$72K Writing$71K$92K Entertainment and Recreation$64K$74K Religion and Theology$49K$81K Sales and Promotions$78K$84K ## Companies Are Trying To Adapt to H-1B Visas Rule Changes Right after Trump signed it Friday, Microsoft, Amazon, and JPMorgan told their H-1B workers who were traveling to return to the US before the Sunday deadline. The Trump administration tried to clear things up Saturday, saying the fee only applies to new applicants. But executives, lawyers, and HR departments played it safe this weekend. Many told workers to return immediately. Everyone watched White House social media for updates. Microsoft told its 5,200 H-1B employees Friday evening to stay in the US "for the foreseeable future", even if it disrupts travel plans. "The critical thing is to stay in the U.S. to avoid being denied re-entry." ## H-1B Visas Rule Changes Affects Technology Industry The IT industry gets 60% of its revenue from the US. Amazon hired the largest number of workers with H-1B visas: more than 14,000 by the end of June. Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google each had more than 4,000 such visas, making them among the top ten largest H-1B recipients in fiscal year 2025. ## H-1B Visas Rule Changes Affects Startups American startups will struggle most. Many operate for years without making money. Only the biggest companies can pay these fees. Smaller firms can't compete. Business Insider [has discovered](https://www.businessinsider.com/h-1b-overhaul-could-kneecap-startups-in-talent-wars-2025-9) that the biggest startups use the H-1B program the most. TikTok's owner ByteDance has the most H-1B permits this year with 1,360 slots. Databricks came second with 248, then Stripe with 151 and OpenAI with 76. New rules make it harder for young startups to hire talent. They can't compete with well-funded companies. This rule can stop the next OpenAI or Anthropic from happening. If you're hiring someone entry-level for $60,000 a year, no company will pay an extra $100,000. For Apple, Microsoft, or Google, $100,000 is nothing. However, if you run a small technology company in Austin, Atlanta, or Denver, where engineers earn $130,000 to $150,000, an additional $100,000 means you have doubled your engineering cost. ## H-1B Visas Rule Changes Affects Finance Industry Banks are among the biggest H-1B sponsors. They need data scientists, quantitative engineers, and cybersecurity specialists - many are foreign-born. These roles drive the industry's digital transformation. Immigration lawyers expect banks to save visas only for the most critical roles. Banks competing in AI, payments, and digital assets may slow innovation. Indian IT companies like Tata and Infosys supply many contractors to American banks. These vendors will send fewer employees to US client sites and do more work offshore in India, Mexico, and the Philippines. Banks already expanded operations in India and Latin America - hubs for data analytics, AI, and risk modeling. This change will speed that up. Banks will also compete harder for the limited pool of US citizens and green card holders in tech, driving up costs. ## H-1B Visas Rule Changes Affects Education Industry Universities would pay $100,000 to hire new professors or researchers from outside the country if they haven't filed petitions yet. The fee, plus other costs, basically stops most employers from hiring H-1B workers from abroad. ## H‑1B Visa Rule Changes Affect Indian Companies Most When Trump was president the first time, getting visas got harder for Indian IT companies. Rejection rates went up four times. Companies like Tata, Infosys, and HCL Tech have reduced their H-1B dependence. They hired more Americans and opened US delivery centers. Today only 8% of Infosys's staff work in the Americas. Since 2018, more than 90% of their new American hires have been locals. Infosys employs thousands across delivery centers in Texas, Indiana, and North Carolina. However, today, the new visa fees are another problem India's IT services companies don't need. AI is already shaking up their business: generative AI tools now do much of the basic work these companies used to charge for. Gartner says that by 2029, AI will automate more than half of enterprise processes - a major source of revenue for Indian IT firms. India's $280 billion IT services sector already struggles with slow growth as customers cut tech spending. H-1B visas remain important. They maintain client relationships in India's biggest market and let engineers work on-site for sensitive US projects. Higher costs mean fewer workers at client sites. Indian outsourcers who send engineers to US client sites will see their profits shrink. The NIFTY IT index (which tracks major IT services firms) dropped 3% when the market opened after the news. India's IT services companies employ over 5 million people. Some companies have already started cutting jobs. TCS laid off 12,000 employees in July (about 2% of their workforce) for "skill mismatch". The visas rule change deepens already strained India-US relations. Lately, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, penalties on India's Russian oil imports, and threats of 100% tariffs on all BRICS members. ## H-1B Visas Rule Changes Benefits Europe, UK and Canada As a startup, you try to hire the best talent. There's limited AI talent, and many are foreign-born. When a startup posts jobs on LinkedIn, 90% of applicants may be from outside the US. The US citizens who apply often don't have the advanced computer science skills needed. They also don't pass the strict interview process. The shortage of engineering talent in the US is why they keep hiring employees abroad. Many founders are now hiring the same employees offshore and paying less. They are looking at alternatives outside the US like the UK. The visa process there is already much simpler since there's no lottery system like in the US. The UK is now even considering removing visa fees for top talent, according to the Financial Times. Talent now sees US immigration as uncertain. They don't like risk and will choose what they can control. America's loss could be nearshore countries gain. This could help them become the preferred destination for international talent. European, UK and Canadian tech companies agree. They see this as a huge opportunity. Making nearshore more attractive to skilled workers helps them attract talent worldwide and strengthens the continent as an innovation hub. ## Criticism of H‑1B Visa Rule Changes If companies can't outsource onshore, they'll expand offshore or neashore. Trump wants to protect US jobs, but this could backfire. American companies will pay more and expand their global capability centers in India faster. Microsoft, Google, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley already run large centers there. Research by Wharton professor Britta Glennon [shows](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3547655) H-1B restrictions push jobs overseas: "Policies aimed at reducing immigration have the unintended consequence of encouraging firms to offshore jobs abroad". The researcher looked at what has happened since visa restrictions got tighter in 2004. Companies that relied heavily on H-1B visas increased their overseas staff by about 25 percent. R&D jobs were among the first to move overseas. The winners are Canada, China, and India. Multinational companies have set up "global capability centres" offshore. They handle everything from data analysis to research and development. In 2010, there were 700 of these centers only in India. Last year there were more than 1,700. Together they made $64 billion and employed 1.9 million people. Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan called Trump's decision a mistake that "hurts startups" and is a "huge gift to foreign tech centers". The American Immigration Lawyers Association plans to file a legal challenge seeking a temporary restraining order this weekend. ## H-1B visas alternatives The O-1 visa is especially popular with startups. It lets people with "extraordinary abilities" work for up to three years. The EB-1 visa is one more alternative that offers a clearer path to permanent residence. ## What's Next Trump opposed H-1B visas since his first administration. Now, White House officials say the $100,000 restriction order helps companies prioritize hiring Americans. Some people see this as positive because it's easier to get a visa - you just need to pay. Immigration hardliners say the visa program hurts Americans because companies hire foreigners for less money. Critics argue that IT staffing firms bring in workers with salaries lower than what companies would have to pay American employees, gaming the system and taking away jobs that would otherwise go to Americans. The current minimum annual salary that companies must pay H-1B visa recipients is $60,000 while critics argue that an American tech worker would receive $100,000 or more for the same job. By the way, [nearshore outsourcing in Eastern Europe](https://belitsoft.com/nearshore-software-development) can cost even less than $60,000 for the same talent. Trump officials will likely continue dismantling the immigrant talent pipeline. They plan to make it harder for international students to get H-1B status. This includes requiring fixed periods for student visas, cutting Optional Practical Training and STEM OPT programs, creating a new H-1B selection process that disadvantages international students, and adding more restrictions for companies. Berenberg (German investment bank) recently lowered its United States economic growth forecast from 2 percent at the beginning of the year to 1.5 percent. However, economists warn that even the 1.5 percent forecast may soon seem optimistic.