New Delhi: Industry veteran and former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai said Thursday that Indian IT firms' dependence on H-1B visas has declined significantly over the years, noting that many leading American tech companies are among the top applicants for these visas.

There was no official response from IT industry body Nasscom after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticised the H-1B visa programme, calling it a “scam” for filling American jobs with foreign workers. Emails to top Indian IT firms including TCS, Infosys, and Wipro also went unanswered.

Pai said Indian IT companies are less dependent on H-1B visas and therefore less vulnerable. “In the last year, many large American tech companies are filing H-1B. It is not Indian service companies coming for H-1B, but the stock of H-1B is very high,” he told PTI.

The US caps H-1B visas at 65,000 annually, with an additional 20,000 for holders of US master's degrees. Pai added that Indian companies now employ over 50% local staff in the US, further reducing dependence on these visas.

H-1B visas allow US employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialised occupations requiring a bachelor's degree or higher. Fiscal year 2025 data (as of June 30) shows Amazon topping the approvals list with 10,044, followed by TCS (5,505), Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Cognizant (2,493), JP Morgan Chase (2,440), Walmart (2,390), and Deloitte Consulting (2,353). Other Indian IT firms on the top 20 list include Infosys (2,004), LTIMindtree (1,807), and HCL America (1,728).