H-1B is ‘not a business model’: Infosys, TCS, Wipro face fresh scrutiny as US visa crackdown widens

The warning comes on the heels of an expanding federal investigation into alleged abuses within the H-1B visa and employment-based green card programmes.

The United States Labour Department issued a stern warning to companies against utilising temporary work visas as a foundational business strategy, signalling further suspensions and intensified investigations into alleged immigration fraud.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, US Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito emphasised that employment-based visa programmes are meant to be temporary stopgaps rather than permanent corporate strategies.

“The visa system and these visas that are in place are all temporary. They are not a method of doing business. You're only supposed to use, for example, an H1B visa if you cannot find a willing and able American to do the same job,” D’Esposito said.

Defending the Trump administration’s aggressive "America First" emphasis on hiring domestic workers, he said, “Nobody can tell me that we don't have the best and brightest here in the United States of America.”

Tech giants and Indian IT majors face PERM suspensions

The Inspector General's warning comes on the heels of an expanding federal investigation into alleged abuses within the H-1B visa and employment-based green card programmes.

In October, the Trump administration took unprecedented action by suspending Microsoft, Adobe, and six major technology outsourcing companies from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme—a crucial step employers use to sponsor foreign workers for employment-based green cards.

The affected outsourcing firms include major Indian IT players such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies, as well as Cognizant and Capgemini.

These suspensions have effectively halted the acceptance and processing of PERM applications involving these companies, disrupting a vital pathway to permanent US residency for their foreign professionals.

The crackdown followed persistent allegations that certain employers have exploited immigration programmes to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees.

White House task force and tighter H-1B restrictions

According to D’Esposito, more companies and educational institutions could face similar suspensions as the probes continue. His office, he said, is working closely with Vice President JD Vance's White House Fraud Task Force to root out systemic visa exploitation.

The administration has already implemented stringent financial hurdles, introducing a $100,000 payment requirement for certain new H-1B petitions and extending related visa restrictions through September 2027.

Even though D’Esposito's latest warning raises the prospect of further regulatory changes, a comprehensive overhaul or a complete shutdown of the H-1B programme has not yet been formally announced by the administration.

About the Author

For about a decade, Livemint—News Desk has been a credible source for authentic and timely news, and well-researched analysis on national news, business, personal finance, corporates, politics and geopolitics. We bring the latest updates on all the listed companies on BSE and NSE, startups, mutual funds, Union ministries, geopolitics, and untapped human interest stories from around the world, helping our readers to stay informed on the latest developments around the globe. Our Coverage Areas 1. Companies: Comprehensive news and analysis on listed and unlisted companies, corporate announcements, corporate chatter, C-suite, business trends, hiring alerts, layoffs, work-life balance, world's top billionaires and richest and more. 2. Personal finance: Insights into mutual funds, small savings schemes like - PPF, SSY, post office savings scheme, stock to watch, personal loans, credit cards, top bank FDs, real estate, income tax and more. 3. Politics: Comprehensive coverage of general elections, state elections and bypolls, Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, Parliament, PMO, PIB, finance ministry, home ministry, among other union ministries and government departments. 4. National News: From metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and e to untapped stories from rural India, we cover human interest, health, education, crime and courts, and law and order, among other areas of public interest. 5. Economy: In-depth analysis of India's macro and micro-economic indicators like- GDP, inflation, forex, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, interest rate cycle, economic recovery, RBI circulars, indirect taxes, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy imports, exports and everything that impacts Indian economy. 6. Geopolitics: Well-rounded and deeply researched coverage on US News, Oval Office European Union, Ukraine Russia War, middle-east crisis, royal families and global leaders like - Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping and premiers of other leading economies in the world. Meet the Team 1. Gulam Jeelani, Political Affairs Editor 2. Sugam Singhal, Senior Assistant Editor 3. Chanchal, Assistant Editor 4. Sanchari Ghosh, Chief Content Producer 5. Pratik Prashant Mukane, Chief Content Producer 6. Sayantani Biswas, Chief Content Producer 7. Ravi Hari, Deputy Chief Content Producer 8. Garvit Bhirani, Deputy Chief Content Producer 9. Akriti Anand, Senior Content Producer 10. Jocelyn Felix Fernandes, Senior Content Producer 11. Swastika Das Sharma, Content Producer 12. Mausam Jha, Content Producer 13. Riya R Alex, Trainee Content Producer