Infosys says H1B visa dependence lowered, expresses confidence in resilient business model

Days after HCLTech said it has lowered reliance on H1B visas, Infosys on Thursday reported a significant decrease in its dependence on this visa category and exuded confidence in its "resilient" operational model. "Over the years, our dependence on H1B visas has reduced significantly. First and foremost, our onsite mix has reduced significantly -- we used to be in the 30 per cent range, (but) we are now at the 24 per cent range. Within that, our near shore has increased significantly.

"Within the US-onsite population that we have, our H1 independent folks are now at 60 plus percentage. We have now built a pretty resilient model from that perspective. We are, therefore, much more confident from where we are versus where we used to be earlier," Infosys CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka said.

On Monday, HCLTech said that around 80 per cent of its workforce in the US comprises local hires, making its dependence on H1B visas among "the lowest in the industry".

"...If I look back over the last 4 odd years, we have been pretty locally self-sufficient. And that reflects in the number of H1Bs that we go through every year. It ranges between 500-1,000 in a year max...So it is minimal dependence," HCLTech Chief People Officer Ramachandran Sundararajan said.

Infosys reported an 11.46 per cent increase in consolidated net profit for the December quarter of FY25, reaching Rs 6,806 crore compared to Rs 6,106 crore during the same period last year. Revenue from operations for this quarter stood at Rs 41,764 crore, marking a 7.58 per cent rise from Rs 38,821 crore in Q3 FY24.

The H1B visa programme allows US companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialised roles and has been a significant avenue for Indian companies within the tech sector.

However, with Donald Trump's return to the presidency, implications for the H1B visa programme could shift again. During his previous administration, Trump enforced stricter regulations aimed at prioritising American workers, a trend that may continue and increase competition for Indian tech professionals seeking these visas.

Data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that Indian-origin tech companies accounted for approximately one-fifth of all H1B visas issued in recent years. In the April-September 2024 period alone, about 24,766 visas were granted to Indian-origin firms out of a total of 1,30,000 issued.