The H-1B visa program is facing another potential major change as the Trump administration considers eliminating a protection that gives laid-off foreign workers up to 60 days to find another employer or change their immigration status.
The proposal comes as debate over the H-1B program continues to intensify.
Government statistics confirm one striking feature of the program: Indian-born workers overwhelmingly dominate H-1B approvals.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, workers born in India accounted for 71% of all approved H-1B petitions in fiscal year 2024. China ranked a distant second at 11.7%.
That pattern continued in fiscal 2025. USCIS data reported in July showed approximately 283,772 Indian-born beneficiaries, or 69.9% of approvals, compared with about 49,161 Chinese-born beneficiaries, or 12.1%.
Those numbers have fueled a broader political argument over whether H-1B remains focused on recruiting specialized talent or has become too concentrated within certain industries and labor pipelines.
H-1B Lottery Rules Were Changed After Abuse Concerns
Concerns about manipulation of the H-1B registration system are not new.
Before 2024 reforms, USCIS became concerned that companies could increase a worker’s odds by submitting multiple registrations through different entities.
USCIS responded by creating a beneficiary-centric selection process. Instead of giving each registration a separate chance of selection, the system was redesigned to give each individual beneficiary essentially the same opportunity regardless of how many registrations were filed on that person’s behalf.
USCIS explicitly said the change was intended to reduce potential fraud and “gaming” of the registration system.
That distinction is important. Evidence exists that the previous system created incentives for multiple registrations, but describing the entire H-1B system as a “rigged lottery” goes beyond what federal findings establish.
Indian Outsourcing Firms Are Losing H-1B Ground
Another significant development challenges the idea that Indian outsourcing companies are expanding their control of the program.
Their share of new H-1B approvals has actually fallen sharply.
In fiscal 2025, the seven largest India-based IT companies received approximately 4,573 approvals for initial employment, down 37% from 2024 and roughly 70% from 2015 levels.
Meanwhile, American technology companies increasingly dominated new approvals. Amazon received 4,644 approvals for initial employment, followed by Meta, Microsoft and Google.
The statistics suggest that Indian nationals remain dominant among individual H-1B beneficiaries even as traditional Indian outsourcing companies become less dominant among sponsoring employers.
Cognizant Case Raises Serious Discrimination Questions
Criticism of employment practices involving visa workers gained significant support from a major federal discrimination case involving Cognizant.
In October 2024, a California federal jury found that Cognizant engaged in a pattern or practice of intentional discrimination against non-South Asian and non-Indian employees who were terminated from the company’s “bench.”
The litigation continued.
According to Cognizant’s own SEC disclosures, a federal court in December 2025 also found in the plaintiffs’ favor on a disparate-impact claim involving company policies. The case was proceeding toward individualized determinations of liability and damages.
The ruling provides documented evidence that discrimination occurred at a major H-1B employer. It does not, however, establish that every company using H-1B workers follows similar practices.
Trump Administration Targets 60-Day Grace Period
The newest controversy involves workers who lose their jobs.
Current regulations generally provide eligible H-1B workers with a discretionary grace period of up to 60 days following termination, or until their authorized stay expires, whichever comes first.
The Trump administration is now advancing a proposal that could eliminate that protection.
Recent reporting shows DHS has moved forward with a proposed regulation aimed at removing the 60-day period.
But there is a critical distinction: the grace period has not yet been eliminated.
The proposal must move through the federal regulatory process. Details could also change before a final rule takes effect.
If ultimately adopted substantially as envisioned, losing a job could have far more immediate immigration consequences for H-1B workers.
Frisco Reflects America’s Changing Demographics
Frisco, Texas, is frequently cited in discussions about the growth of the Indian-American technology workforce.
The city has unquestionably experienced dramatic demographic change.
Census Bureau figures estimate Frisco’s population reached approximately 236,955 in 2025, an increase of more than 18% from its 2020 population base. Asians represent about 28.1% of residents, while 27.3% of Frisco residents are foreign-born.
However, those statistics do not establish that the demographic change resulted primarily from H-1B migration. Census figures also do not support describing the city’s growth as “colonization.”
H-1B Debate Is Far From Over
The verified evidence presents a more complicated picture than either side of the H-1B debate sometimes suggests.
Indian nationals unquestionably dominate H-1B approvals, accounting for roughly seven out of every ten approved beneficiaries.
There is also documented evidence that previous registration rules were vulnerable to gaming, serious discrimination occurred at at least one major H-1B employer, and the Trump administration is pursuing substantially tighter immigration enforcement.
At the same time, Indian outsourcing companies have been receiving fewer new H-1B approvals, American technology giants have become leading sponsors, and claims that the 60-day grace period has already disappeared are premature.
The next major development will be DHS’s formal proposal concerning the grace period.
If the administration ultimately eliminates it, the relationship between an H-1B worker and a sponsoring employer could become even more consequential. Losing a job would no longer simply mean finding another position. For many workers, it could also mean quickly losing the legal basis that allows them to remain in the United States.
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