Mohandas Pai, a respected industry veteran and former Chief Financial Officer of Infosys, recently voiced strong concerns regarding the U.S. government’s decision to implement a substantial $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications. Speaking on Saturday, September 20, 2025, Pai predicted that this new policy would significantly curb new visa applications from companies and likely spur a notable increase in offshoring activities over the next few months.
The controversial fee stems from a proclamation signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, which levies a $100,000 annual charge on visas for highly skilled professionals. President Trump justified this measure by stating that while the H-1B program was designed to bring in temporary, high-skilled workers to complement the American workforce, it has allegedly been misused to replace U.S. workers with cheaper, less-skilled labor.
Mohandas Pai vehemently rejected the claim that H-1B visas are primarily used to import inexpensive labor. He highlighted that the average salary offered by the top 20 H-1B employers actually surpasses $100,000, calling the prevailing narrative ‘misplaced rhetoric.’ An anonymous IT industry expert further emphasized that the new fee’s impact extends beyond Indian tech firms, affecting global giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which rely on H-1B visas to attract top talent. The expert deemed the $100,000 fee ‘excessively high’.
Pai clarified that, for the immediate future, the policy’s impact would be somewhat ‘limited,’ as it exclusively targets new visa applications. Current H-1B visa holders, he assured, remain ‘safe’ from these changes.
Speaking to PTI, Pai reiterated, “It has got limited application, because…it doesn’t apply to all the H-1B visas which are already there. So there could be only impact for anybody applying in future, new applications will come down. Nobody’s going to pay $100,000, that is very true.” This underscores his belief that the prohibitive cost will deter potential new applicants.
He further contended that H-1B wages, by their very nature, are “not cheap.”
Pai explained, “People pay more than $100,000 as salaries, they’re not cheap. If they pay their staff $100,000 they charge their clients $150,000-$160,000, so all this idea of sending cheap, low-skilled people, that doesn’t hold water.” His statement challenges the perception of H-1B as a pipeline for low-cost labor.
Looking ahead, Pai anticipates that companies will likely escalate their offshoring strategies.
He elaborated on this prediction, stating, “Now what will happen is everybody will work to increase offshoring…because it doesn’t make sense; first, you don’t get talent, second the costs are too high; they’ll increase offshore. That will happen over the next maybe six months to one year. So we have to wait and see what happens, but right now, for 3-6 months, it will not have any big impact.” This suggests a phased shift towards outsourcing operations.
Pai has consistently argued that Indian IT companies’ reliance on H-1B visas has steadily declined over time. He has previously underscored that official data often reveals major American tech corporations are, in fact, among the primary applicants for these visas.
According to data from the USCIS website for fiscal year 2025 (as of June 30, 2025), Amazon led the pack in H-1B visa approvals with a staggering 10,044.
The list of top ten H-1B beneficiaries also featured prominent tech and consulting firms: TCS secured the second position with 5,505 approvals, followed by Microsoft Corp. (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Cognizant (2,493), JP Morgan Chase (2,440), Walmart (2,390), and Deloitte Consulting (2,353). The broader top 20 included Infosys (2,004), LTIMindtree (1,807), and HCL America (1,728).
Another industry expert commented that this latest U.S. policy shift could potentially impede technological innovation within the country.
It’s worth noting that the U.S. Congress has established an annual cap of 65,000 H-1B visas, with an additional 20,000 visas reserved for professionals holding a master’s degree or higher from an accredited U.S. institution.
As outlined on the USCIS website, the H-1B program is designed to permit U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for roles demanding specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in a specific field, involving both theoretical and practical application.