Which companies will be hit hardest by the $100,000 H-1B fee?

New York/Washington: Which companies will be hit hardest by the USD 100,000 H-1B fee? 

Fresh federal tallies put Amazon at 10,044 H-1B workers as of June 2025, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at 5,505. Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951) follow close behind. 

In raw exposure, the biggest users face the largest headline bill if the levy applies across new entries.

In a move with sweeping implications for Indian IT and global tech employers, the Trump administration has ordered that entry as an H-1B non-immigrant will be restricted unless the petition is accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 100,000. 

The stated aim is to curb “systemic abuse,” but the immediate corporate question is who pays, and who can’t.

USCIS has already received enough petitions to reach the 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000 master’s cap for FY2026. That means a large pipeline exists, and the fee becomes the new go/no-go filter for how many candidates actually enter during the window.

US President Donald Trump’s proclamation, “Restriction on entry of certain nonimmigrant workers,” takes effect September 21, 2025, and, absent an extension, runs for 12 months. 

Employers now have days, not months, to decide which roles are mission-critical enough to justify the USD 100,000 payment at entry.

The proclamation argues the H-1B channel has been over-used by STEM employers, citing a doubling of foreign STEM workers since 2000 and a rising foreign share in computer and math roles. 

It alleges IT firms have “manipulated” the programme and that some employers replaced US staff while maintaining large H-1B cohorts.

Which companies are hit hardest in practice depends on more than headcount. 

There are four levers: volume exposure (how many petitions could trigger the fee), dependency exposure (how central H-1Bs are to US delivery), pricing power (who can pass the cost to clients), and timing risk (who has the most starts planned after September 21).

Amazon faces the largest absolute dollars on paper, but also has the deepest ability to absorb or reprice across cloud, ads and retail. 

Expect surgical entries for priority roles, more near-shoring to Canada/Mexico, and deferrals where work can be done remotely.

TCS sits in the high-risk bucket by dependency. Onsite consultants are embedded in US delivery for BFSI, retail and tech. A per-entry levy lands directly on onsite margins and cannot always be passed through mid-contract. The likely response is tighter gating of onsite roles, accelerated offshore and nearshore delivery, and repricing of new statements of work.

Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google carry thousands of H-1Bs each, but have cash cushions, premium margins and flexibility to rebalance teams. 

They can fund critical AI, cloud and silicon roles while slowing non-critical starts or relocating work to international hubs.

Deloitte has moderate exposure with scope to pass costs into project pricing, but public-sector contracts and competitive tenders limit instant adjustments. Outcomes will hinge on contract terms and client willingness to absorb surcharges.

Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra face a service-provider squeeze similar to TCS, though on smaller absolute numbers. Rate cards, utilisation targets and procurement-driven pricing make immediate pass-through difficult, forcing a redesign of onsite-offshore mixes and tighter visa funnels.

The proclamation cites multiple examples where companies downsized US headcount while maintaining or adding H-1B approvals. Those anecdotes will fuel politics; employers will respond with operations. Near-shoring, L-1 where lawful, deferred start dates, and accelerated hiring of US citizens and green-card holders are the obvious playbook.