Nifty IT Slips 0.7% In Early Trade After Trump Extends $100,000 H-1B Fee By Another Year
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Nifty IT fell in early trade after the US extended the $100,000 H-1B visa fee for another year, while authorities also announced tighter scrutiny of applications and sponsoring employers.
The Nifty IT index fell 0.7% in early trade on 21 September after US President Donald Trump extended by one year the $100,000 fee on employers bringing foreign workers into the US on H-1B visas.
The fee was first imposed in 2025 and was due to expire this month. In a presidential proclamation issued on Friday, Trump said the measure had resulted in a 92% decline in H-1B registrations by large information technology (IT) outsourcing firms.
The extension comes as the US administration continues to tighten scrutiny of the H-1B visa programme. The programme allows US employers to bring in foreign workers with specialised skills. At 12:08 pm, the Nifty IT index was down 0.35%.
H-1B Fee Extended For One Year
Trump said the extension would continue the objectives of the 2025 proclamation, including protecting US economic and national security interests, improving access to jobs for American workers and graduates, and ensuring that employers recruit highly skilled foreign workers when required.
The $100,000 fee has faced legal challenges, with the matter pending before two different federal courts. The 2025 order did not apply to visas granted to foreign citizens already in the US on student visas. Such workers account for a large share of new H-1B recipients.
The order also did not apply to renewals of existing visas. The review will assess whether further action against employers sponsoring H-1B workers is warranted.
US Tightens H-1B Application Scrutiny
Trump also issued a separate proclamation to increase scrutiny of H-1B visa applications through greater coordination between US agencies. The order directs the Secretaries of State, Labour and Homeland Security to consider recent or planned layoffs of similarly placed US workers when reviewing H-1B applications.
The White House fact sheet said the move is intended to strengthen oversight of the programme by improving coordination between government agencies and applying greater scrutiny where there is a higher risk of US workers being laid off.
Trump said the H-1B programme was created to bring in uniquely skilled and highly specialised foreign temporary workers to supplement the US economy. He also alleged that certain employers, third-party placement groups and outsourcing firms had instead used the programme to reduce costs and replace skilled US workers.
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Vishwa has spent 10+ years across fintech and FMCG doing what most people miss, connecting the dots, catching trends before they trend, and finding the angle nobody else thought to ask about.
At Kotak Neo, she drives content strategy for neoshorts, Kotak News Desk, and Investing Guide, turning market noise into something worth reading.
When she's not decoding markets, she trades charts for canvases, chasing art, painting, and architecture across cities she's yet to explore.
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