Shares of Infosys and Wipro listed in the US, in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADRs), dropped sharply on Friday following US President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting the entry of certain H-1B visa holders into the country. Infosys ADRs fell by 4%, while Wipro ADRs declined 2% during overnight trading.

Under the new rules, H-1B visa petitions for new applications must be accompanied by a payment of $100,000. The US State Department may reject any application that does not include this payment.

Indian IT service providers, including Infosys, are among the biggest users of H-1B visas. They typically staff their US projects with skilled workers from India, but the new fee would directly threaten this cost-saving model.

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The Trump administration’s proposal to raise H-1B visa fees aims to stop people from misusing the program. The proposed fee of $100,000 would be a huge increase from what it currently costs. This move signals a tougher stance on companies that rely on foreign workers for US projects.

Other tech companies also see declines

Infosys and Wipro was not the only company affected. Other firms that depend on H-1B visas also saw their stocks drop. Cognizant Technology’s share price went down by 4.3%, while Accenture’s shares slipped 1.3% after the announcement.

Trump signs order imposing $100,000 fee for H-1B visas

President Trump has signed the order making H-1B visas unavailable unless companies pay a steep $100,000 fee. The US government claims the H-1B program has been misused, leading to American workers being replaced by foreign employees. The proposed fee is meant to act as a strong deterrent for companies that rely too heavily on hiring from abroad.

The plan is part of the Trump administration’s wider effort to tighten immigration rules, especially those related to employment-based visas. Previous measures have also targeted skilled worker programs, with the goal of protecting US jobs over foreign hiring.

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The technology sector continues to watch developments around H-1B policy. Any major changes could force companies to rethink their strategies, which may affect both operations and profitability in the long run.

Netizens reacts

People on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) are sharing the screenshots of Infosys’ and Cognizant’s stocks graph.

A user wrote, Significant drop in stocks for Indian IT firms that dominate the H-1B visa field directly after the news the Trump admin will impose a $100k fee for the work visas”.

Another shared, “Companies like Infosys and Cognizant are well known for flooding the USA with cheap foreign labor by abusing the work visa programs”.