On Monday, September 21, the NIFTY IT index fell 1.3%, reaching an intraday low of 28,475.35 after the Trump administration extended the $100,000 payment requirement for certain H‑1B visa petitions. The White House announced that President Donald Trump had extended the 2025 measure for a year, citing a 92% drop in H‑1B registrations by large IT outsourcing firms. The move aims to improve programme integrity and prevent employers from using the H‑1B programme to undercut or displace U.S. workers. Indians remain the largest group of beneficiaries of the U.S. H‑1B visa programme.

The extension of the $100,000 annual fee per H‑1B worker is expected to raise operating expenses for global tech firms, pressure margins, and potentially force a shift toward more offshore delivery from India. Companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Limited, Wipro Limited, and HCL Technologies Limited depend significantly on H‑1B visas to deploy skilled employees on‑site in the U.S. for high‑value projects. The increased cost has created uncertainty around future visa costs and staffing models for these firms, prompting a sell‑off in the sector.

At the time of writing, seven of the ten stocks listed on NIFTY IT were trading lower on Monday. Oracle Financial Services Software fell 6.6%, Coforge dropped 1.98%, Wipro slid 1.7%, Infosys fell 1.61% and Mphasis 1.12%. Shares of LTM fell 0.7% and Persistent Systems 0.33%. HCL Technologies gained 1.32%, Tech Mahindra 0.79% and Tata Consultancy Services 0.65% were the only gainers. The index has tumbled 22% year‑on‑year and slipped 2% over the past six months.

The decline in OFSS shares follows a Financial Times report that about $18bn of loans tied to a data centre leased to Oracle in New Mexico slid into stressed territory. Investors fear that increasing local backlash could derail the tech group’s massive AI infrastructure build‑out. The 1,400‑acre data centre campus in Doña Ana County is central to Oracle’s landmark $300bn contract with OpenAI to provide computing power. The project secured $18bn of loans from a consortium of banks and billions of equity investment from Blue Owl.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had earlier proposed eliminating the discretionary 60‑day grace period that allows certain foreign workers, including H‑1B visa holders, to find a new job after losing employment. This move is likely to impact Indian technology workers hired by tech companies and others on H‑1B visas significantly. The White House said the measure aims to improve programme integrity and prevent employers from using the H‑1B programme to undercut or displace U.S. workers.

The H‑1B visa controversy remains one of the most important U.S. work visa routes, allowing American companies to hire skilled foreign professionals, including a large number of Indian IT engineers. The $100,000 annual fee per H‑1B worker was intended to discourage companies from hiring foreign talent and encourage them to employ more local workers. The increased cost has created uncertainty around future visa costs and staffing models for global tech firms, leading to a sharp decline in IT stocks on Monday.