NIFTY IT falls amid H-1B visa changes; here’s why OFSS, Coforge, Wipro are down on Monday

IT stocks came under selling pressure on Monday, September 21, as the NIFTY IT index dropped 1.3% to an intraday low of 28,475.35 after the Trump administration extended H-1B visa payment norms.

On Friday, September 21, the White House said that President Donald Trump has extended the requirement for a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B visa petitions by a year.

In a presidential proclamation issued, Trump said the 2025 measure imposing the $100,000 payment had led to a 92% decrease in H-1B registrations by large IT outsourcing firms.

Indians remain the largest group of beneficiaries of the US H-1B visa programme.

Trump issued a separate order to tighten the scrutiny of H-1B visa applications by directing US agencies to consider recent or planned layoffs of similarly situated American workers when reviewing applications.

The White House said the measure aims to improve programme integrity and prevent employers from using the H-1B programme to undercut or displace US workers.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Homeland Security had also 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. The move is likely to impact Indian technology workers hired by tech companies and others on H-1B visas significantly.

H-1B visa controversy: What you need to know

The H-1B visa programme is one of the most important US work visa routes that allows American companies to hire skilled foreign professionals, including a large number of Indian IT engineers.

The $100,000 annual fee per H-1B worker aimed to discourage companies from hiring foreign talent and encourage them to discourage companies from hiring foreign talent and push them to employ more local workers. The move had created uncertainty around future visa costs and staffing models for global tech firms.

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 US for high-value projects.

A sharp increase in visa costs will raise operating expenses, pressure margins, and potentially force a shift toward more offshore delivery from India.

Here’s how IT stocks are faring on Monday

At the time of writing the article, seven out of 10 stocks listed on NIFTY IT were trading lower on Monday. The losses were led by Oracle Financial Services Software (6.6%), Coforge (-1.98%), Wipro (-1.7%), Infosys (-1.61%) and Mphasis (-1.12%). Shares of LTM (-0.7%) and Persistent Systems (-0.33%) were also trading lower.

HCL Technologies (1.32%), Tech Mahindra (0.79%) and Tata Consultancy Services (0.65%) were the only gainers.

On a year-on-year basis, the NIFTY IT index has tumbled 22%, while for six months period, it has slipped 2%.