Woman left alone in Rome as boyfriend races to US after Trump announces $100,000 H-1B visa fee

India’s $283 billion information technology industry is bracing for sweeping changes after US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications from Sunday. According to a Reuters report, industry leaders, economists, and immigration experts warn that the new rules could upend the decades-old playbook of sending Indian professionals to the United States for client projects.

The US has been the backbone of India’s IT sector, contributing nearly 57 per cent of total revenues. The model has relied heavily on H-1B visas, which allow firms to rotate engineers and project managers to client locations in America. Government data cited by Reuters shows India accounted for 71 per cent of approved H-1B recipients last year, far ahead of China’s 11.7 per cent.

With Trump’s move targeting the visa program, IT giants such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra may be forced to recalibrate. Reuters reported that leading US clients, including Apple, JPMorgan Chase, Walmart, Microsoft, Meta, and Google, could see project staffing models change significantly.