H-1B visa fee hike hits IT stocks: TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HCLTech fall up to 6%

Indian Information Technology (IT) companies witnessed selling pressure on Monday, with heavyweights including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) , Infosys , Wipro , Tech Mahindra , and HCLTech falling up to 6% in opening trade. The sell-off was triggered after the U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s decision to raise the annual H-1B visa fee to $100,000, which could potentially impact the overall profitability of Indian IT companies and onsite operations in the United States.

Weighted down by the development, the Nifty IT index dropped as much as 2.65% in opening trade today, emerging as the top loser in the sectoral space. The index, which comprises the top 10 listed IT companies, saw broad-based selling, led by Tech Mahindra, which dropped as much as 6.5% to ₹1,453.70 on the BSE in early trade.

HCLTech was the second on the chart, falling as much as 4.2% to ₹1,480.05 on the BSE. TCS, the country’s most valued IT stock, tumbled 3.3% to ₹3,063.05, while Infosys slipped 3.9% to ₹1,480.05 apiece. Wipro shares fell up to 3.5% to ₹247.10.

Mid- and small-cap IT companies also saw pressure, with LTIMindtree down 3.54% to ₹5,314.50 and Persistent Systems declining 3.62% to ₹5,306.50. Mphasis and Coforge recorded sharper falls of 3.28% and 3.29%, respectively.

According to market analysts, no immediate earnings risks are likely, as H-1B lotteries and petitions are usually processed in Q4–Q1, which means the financial impact would start reflecting only from the next fiscal year.

“We do not foresee any immediate risks to earnings, though a potential inch-up in onsite wage inflation due to increased local hiring and the $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas from the next-year lottery cycle would hit earnings in FY27,” Emkay Global said in a report.

Motilal Oswal also noted that the program’s mechanics remain largely the same: employers must still sponsor foreign workers for roles requiring specialized skills, but now at a sharply higher cost. “Since H-1B lotteries and petitions are typically run in Q4–Q1, the first impact would likely be seen in FY27 petitions,” it added. Visa applications for FY26 are already locked in, and the $100k fee will start to impact filings from FY27 onwards.

The move is likely to affect earnings of Indian IT firms such as TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Cognizant, LTIMindtree, and others, which collectively sponsored 14,341 H-1B visas in the calendar year 2025. The top 100 companies collectively received around 106,000 H-1B visa approvals in CY25, as per data compiled by Emkay Global.

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