New Delhi, Sept. 25 -- In a major shocker, the US administration announced a massive hike in the H1-B visa fee to $100,000. This visa is widely used by tech companies to hire offshore workers temporarily to work in the United States. The announcement, made last weekend, has created a ripple effect on Dalal Street as Indian IT companies that have long benefited from US work visa programs now face the prospect of higher costs and slower revenue growth.

According to data from Reuters, over 70% of these visas went to Indian nationals, with only 12% to China. All other countries made up a vastly smaller portion in comparison. While the US tech companies have remained largely unscathed, they top the list in companies that use the H-1B visas th...