Indian IT Stocks Dip: Infosys and TCS Lead Market Weakness After H-1B Fee Increase

Infosys share price fall: In particular, stocks of Indian IT bellwethers Infosys, TCS share price slump as soon as the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 opened in the negative zone, after Washington announced the hike on the visa programme that allows thousands of Indian tech professionals to work in the US.

The Indian diaspora in the US, particularly, were hit with panic, after the Trump administration’s announcement on Thursday revealed that the previous fee of $2,000 to $5,000 for an H-1B visa fee hike impact for foreign workers had been hiked to a whopping $100,000 or nearly ₹88 lakh in Indian currency.

Reports soon emerged of travellers rushing to get off flights to the US at airports like New York’s JFK International Airport, after coming to terms with the possibility of being stuck outside the country with their families, and not knowing whether they would be expected to pay the new fee when they try to enter the US in the future. The US government later confirmed that the change in the fee was only for new applications, and would not apply to existing visa holders.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained in a statement the reasons for the move, saying that the policy was intended to “discourage reliance on foreign workers”. “The basic idea is this: Big tech companies and other businesses will no longer be able to Indian IT stocks today at a fraction of the cost of American employees. If they want to bring in foreign workers, companies will first have to pay the government $100,000 and then the salary for the foreign worker

The Indian government, however, has said that the move could lead to humanitarian consequences as well, due to the disruptions it would cause for families. “We have seen this. The government would like to hope that the US would address these issues in an appropriate manner,” the Indian statement said.