According to data from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Indian information technology (IT) enterprises received one-fifth of all H-1B visas issued by the United States in 2024.
IT giants such as Infosys, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), HCL (Hindustan Computers Limited), Wipro, and Tech Mahindra were among the top beneficiaries. Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, continued to get the most H-1B visa approvals in 2024, Mint reports.
The H-1B non-immigrant visa programme allows skilled foreign workers to work temporarily in the United States.
According to USCIS data, between April and September of last year, Indian-origin companies received 24,766 of the 1,30,000 H-1B visas.
USCIS informs that Infosys, Co-founded by Narayana Murthy, received 8,140 H-1B visas in 2024 alone.
This was the most number of visas an Indian IT company had received in a single year. Infosys was second to Amazon in 2024.
Murthy has been embroiled in controversy over the last year, facing criticism for publicly rejecting the concept of "work-life balance" and advocating for a 70-hour work week.
Infosys was followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (5,274 visas), HCL America (2,953), Wipro (1,634), and Tech Mahindra (1,199 visas).
According to a report from Pew Research, India is the top for H-1B visa beneficiaries. Since 2010, Indian workers have regularly received the bulk of H-1B visas.
In 2023, India accounted for 73 per cent of all granted H-1B visa applicants, followed by China (12 per cent). According to the report, no other country received more than 2 per cent of the H-1B visa approvals.
In 2024, 65 per cent of H-1B visa approvals (2,58,196 applications) were renewals, with 35 per cent (1,41,207 applications) for new employment.
