H-1B Visa Fee Hiked: TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, other IT stocks in focus on D-Street

IT stocks from the likes of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to Infosys will be in focus in Monday's trade on Dalal Street after the Donald Trump 2.0 administration announced a significant hike in the H-1B visa fee programme. The new visa fee of $100,000 (more than Rs 88 lakh at the current forex rate) is applicable from Sunday, September 21.

The US administration later clarified that the new fee was only applicable on fresh applications and not on existing beneficiaries. Until now, the fee for H-1B applications stood at $2,000-$5,000.

India is the biggest beneficiary of H-1B visas. Every year, seven out of every 10 H-1B visa holders turn out to be Indians, according to official figures.

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The latest change is set to increase the costs for Indian IT companies, which rely on the US for the lion's share of their revenues.

The rule change may impact aspects such as margin and operational flexibility, say analysts.

Signing the proclamation, US President Donald Trump said America is "going to have great people coming in", referring to the programme that is crucial for highly skilled Indian techies working in the US.

US cracks whip against immigrants once again

Under Trump, the US government wants to ensure that people entering the US to work are "actually very highly skilled", said the 47th American president.

The action and the president's remarks are aligned with Trump's campaign with a protectionist 'America first' policy.

In another blow to H-1B visa holders, Trump also plans to order the US Labour Secretary to revise the prevailing wage levels under the programme.

Three key takeaways from the White House's H-1B fee hike order:

• Proclamation to restrict the entry of certain H-1B aliens in the US as non-immigrant workers
• Entry restricted under H-1B visa programme unless accompanied by payment
• H-1B pathway abuse has displaced American workers: Trump

The White House said that American workers are being replaced with lower-paid foreign labour, creating an economic and national security threat to the US.

The Trump administration said that the $1,00,000 fee is aimed at ensuring that the people being brought into the country are “actually very highly skilled” and do not replace American workers.