Global tech markets are likely to open on a cautious note on Monday after the US government announced a significant increase in H-1B visa fees, raising the annual cost to USD 100,000 per applicant from September 21, 2025. The move could send shockwaves through Nasdaq-listed tech giants, including NVIDIA, Tesla, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple, as investors grapple with the implications of staffing costs, talent acquisition, and profitability on their bottomlines.
Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions slipped around 4.75 per cent on Nasdaq on Friday, while Infosys fell 3.40 per cent on the NYSE. The impact is expected to extend to other US tech giants as well, including NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla, Meta, and Alphabet, which could face long-term pressure.
H-1B visa fee hike to push costs for Nasdaq-listed tech companies
Stock market analysts noted that Indian IT and tech companies, heavily reliant on H-1B visas, may confront a tightening talent pool. Similarly, US-based firms such as Apple, Meta, Amazon, Google, NVIDIA, and Tesla are likely to face challenges, as the H-1B visa fee hike may push them to hire more American workers, potentially increasing costs and affecting efficiency.
Seema Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at SMC Global Securities, highlighted the far-reaching impact of the fee hike.
“This decision severely impacts Indian and US-listed IT companies with significant US operations,” she said. Srivastava noted that major tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Meta employ large numbers of H-1B professionals, primarily from India. The sudden fee escalation will substantially raise staffing expenses for these firms.
She added, “Companies are expected to prioritise only critical or senior roles for sponsorship, while junior and mid-level hiring will face a steep decline, particularly among mid-sized IT firms and startups. This policy shift forces more roles to remain offshore or leave the US altogether.”
The H-1B visa fee surge has sparked concern among global investors as it directly affects companies’ labour costs, operational strategies, and earnings outlook. The move is widely perceived as part of the US administration’s efforts to increase job opportunities for American tech workers, but it comes with significant trade-offs.
Sandeep Pandey, Co-founder of Basav Capital, explained, “After the H-1B visa fee hike, employee costs for Indian and US tech companies are expected to rise sharply, irrespective of the country those employees belong to. From a company perspective, American techies would cost dearly, and their output is generally lower than their Indian or international counterparts.”
Pandey further emphasised the potential market impact: “Companies will pay more while productivity may decline, which is expected to affect business volume and margins. I anticipate that Nasdaq-listed stocks like NVIDIA, Tesla, Meta, and Alphabet may react negatively when the US stock market opens.”
Analysts are warning that these elevated staffing costs could compress margins, particularly for firms that rely heavily on H-1B talent for critical technology roles, product development, and research initiatives.
Indian IT Sector Crash
Nifty IT tumbled over 3.5 per cent in intraday trade on Monday, significantly underperforming the benchmark Nifty, which declined just 0.5 per cent.
All constituents of the Nifty IT index traded in the red, with Tech Mahindra emerging as the biggest loser, dropping 5.8 per cent.
Mphasis and Persistent Systems shares also fell sharply, each declining more than 5 per cent. Meanwhile, shares of TCS, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Coforge, and LTIMindtree lost between 3–5 per cent, while Oracle Financial Services slipped 1.4 per cent.
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