No H-1B visa, two layoffs, then a job at Silicon Valley tech giant

Trump plan may make H-1B renewals costlier for Indian workers

For thousands of Indians working in the US on H-1B work visa visas, staying employed could become even more uncertain. Since Indians reportedly account for the largest share of H-1B extensions, the move could make it more expensive for companies to retain Indian talent. If implemented, it would expand the scope of the existing "9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee" to include extension applications for H-1B and L-1 visa (for employees transferred from abroad) visa holders. The numbers show that keeping existing H-1B workers has become a much bigger part of the visa programme than hiring new ones. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS (U.S. immigration agency)) had reportedly approved over 406,000 H-1B petitions in FY2025, and nearly three-quarters of them were linked to employees already working in the US who needed to continue their stay. Immigration experts believe thousands of them are H-1B visa holders, many of whom are Indians. For H-1B workers, losing a job starts a strict 60-day countdown. Data from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) shows Amazon received the highest number of H-1B approvals for continuing employment in fiscal 2025. Even so, the data suggests the heavy reliance of major technology companies on the H-1B visa system. While it does not directly change visa eligibility, immigration experts believe the added financial burden could influence hiring and retention decisions, creating another layer of uncertainty for Indian professionals working in the US.