Exclusive data compiled by The Economic Times show that H-1B registrations submitted from India for the FY 2027 cap season fell 38.5 %, the sharpest year-on-year decline in seven years. Only 106,000 unique registrations were filed from India, down from 172,000 last year. Immigration attorneys attribute the slump to three converging factors. First, US CIS will hike filing fees on 16 October—Form I-129 (H-1B) rises from US$460 to US$780—prompting many mid-sized IT firms to cut sponsorship volumes. Second, this was the first full cycle using wage-based selection priority, which favours higher-salary roles often outside traditional offshore-outsourcing models. Third, clients in the US have postponed discretionary tech projects amid recession fears, reducing demand for onsite staffing. While global IT majors with deep pockets (TCS, Infosys, Wipro) maintained filings, Tier-2 vendors trimmed registrations by more than half. Start-ups, particularly in e-commerce and fintech, almost disappeared from the pool, lawyers said. Mobility impact: fewer approvals will tighten the talent pipeline for US projects starting in October 2027. Companies should accelerate near-shore hiring in Canada and Mexico or expand remote-delivery centres inside India. HR should also analyse alternative US visa classes such as L-1 B (specialised knowledge) and the newly liberalised B-1 in-lieu-of-H-1B pilot. The drop may give USCIS processing relief but could slow knowledge-transfer ambitions of Indian firms ahead of expected AI and quantum-computing contracts next year.
