In the weeks following President Donald Trump’s decision to sharply raise H-1B visa fees, several major U.S. companies have slowed or temporarily halted their sponsorship of foreign workers. The move has created uncertainty across the tech and healthcare sectors, where employers rely heavily on international talent to fill specialized roles.
Under the new policy, employers seeking to hire H-1B workers for the first time must now pay a hefty $100,000 fee. Administration officials say the move is intended to strike a balance: continuing to draw highly skilled talent from around the world, while cracking down on companies that have historically used the program to hire cheaper foreign labor at the expense of U.S. workers’ wages. The announcement has sent ripples through industries that depend on H-1B talent, leaving many employers reevaluating their hiring strategies.
While some big tech companies have publicly supported the H-1B visa fee hike, many others have stayed quiet amid growing uncertainty. Reports indicate that the several tech giants are reevaluating their team structures and hiring plans, particularly for positions traditionally filled by H-1B visa holders. The Trump administration’s new $100,000 fee for first-time H-1B applications is prompting companies to consider alternative staffing strategies, including expanding domestic recruitment or restructuring roles, as the tech sector adjusts to this major policy shift.
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One notable example is Cognizant. The IT consulting firm, founded in India and based in New Jersey, has not issued an official comment on the H-1B fee increase. However, in a job posting for a software engineering role in South Carolina dated Oct. 14, the company specified that it would “only consider applicants for this position who are legally authorized to work in the United States without the need of employer sponsorship.”
A company spokesperson told Newsweek that Trump’s directive “is expected to have limited near-term impact on our operations.” They added, “Cognizant’s scale and global footprint provide multiple levers to continue to serve our clients in the U.S. and globally.”
Another firm affected is California-based med-tech company Intuitive Surgical. In late September, Business Insider reported that the company had paused H-1B sponsorships. Over 100 job postings on its website across multiple roles carried a notice stating: “Due to the uncertainty caused by the recent U.S. executive proclamation, we are temporarily pausing offers to candidates who require H-1B visa sponsorship.”
Retail giant Walmart Inc., the largest private employer in the U.S., has also put a hold on extending job offers to candidates requiring H-1B visas, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. Government data indicates that Walmart employs roughly 2,390 H-1B visa holders, more than any other major U.S. retailer. While notable, this represents only a tiny portion of the company’s overall U.S. workforce, which totals approximately 1.6 million employees.
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“Walmart is committed to hiring and investing in the best talent to serve our customers, while remaining thoughtful about our H-1B hiring approach,” a Walmart spokeswoman told the portal.
While Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services has taken a different approach. CEO K. Krithivasan told the Deccan Chronicle and Times of India that the company already maintains a substantial H-1B workforce in the U.S. and will now focus on prioritizing local talent for new hires. “On H-1B, we have significantly localized our workforce in the US. We believe our business model will be able to adapt quickly to any changes in immigration policy,” Tata’s chief human resources officer Sudeep Kunnumal said on a recent earnings call.
These companies have chosen a cautious path in response to the H-1B fee hike, opting not to publicly challenge the policy. Instead of voicing opposition, they have paused sponsorship for new H-1B applicants or reshuffled their hiring strategies to prioritize local talent. This approach allows companies to maintain business continuity in the U.S. while avoiding confrontation with the Trump administration, effectively balancing operational needs with the political and regulatory climate.