TCS Cuts Reliance on H-1B Visas as US Imposes $100K Fee

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is ramping up local hiring in the U.S. and further trimming its use of H-1B visas, just as the Trump administration plans a steep $100,000 fee on new visa petitions.

The proposed charge, effective February 2026, would apply to fresh H-1B applications and renewals, adding major costs for companies sending skilled workers overseas.

In the current financial year, TCS has used only about 500 new H-1B visas, a marked reduction compared to previous years.

The company’s CEO K. Krithivasan told analysts that the company will not be hiring additional new H-1B visa holders anytime soon.

Tighter visa rules and political rhetoric have not yet disrupted TCS operations, though. “We have deliberately cut reliance on onsite visas and are scaling up local recruitment,” he told India’s The Economic Times.

Analysts say TCS’s early pivot to local hiring positions it well to absorb policy shocks. The $100,000 per-visa fee could otherwise add about $50 million in annual costs, sharply raising the price of traditional offshore delivery models used by Indian IT firms.