H-1B filings drop as US policies raise costs and hiring uncertainty.
NRI term insurance demand surges amid geopolitical tensions and risk awareness.
Shift from opportunity-driven migration to cautious, risk-managed financial planning trends globally.
H-1B visa petitions from United States-based financial companies dropped 10% in FY26 for the October to December quarter, compared to the same period last fiscal, according to a report by Business Insider.
The downward trend comes amid US President Donald Trump’s visa policy changes, which hiked the cost of new applications to $100,000 each, it said, adding that leading lenders that reduced filings include Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, stated a September 2025 report by The Times of India.
1 April 2026
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Further, among tech companies, all major companies, except Nvidia, also saw their H-1B application numbers slide in Q1FY26. Business Insider said the named companies did not respond to queries.
Meanwhile, a report published by Paisabazaar on April 13 revealed that term insurance purchases by non-resident Indians (NRIs) have doubled in two years and increased 35% in March from the month before amid the Iran war, noting that the trend shows the urgency among “global mobile Indians” to secure financial protection for families back home.
In case of people aged 25 to 35, their contribution accounted for 54% of total NRI term insurance demand last year, up from 44% in 2024. This marks a notable change in financial priorities, with younger people opting to secure life cover earlier, added the report.
More than half of the total demand for term insurance comes from NRIs in West Asia. After the most recent regional conflict, there has been a 35% month-on-month rise in term insurance purchases.
This reaction shows how political instability affects how people handle their money. Term insurance is a very important way for many NRIs who work in unstable areas to protect their families' finances in India in case something unexpected happens.
Taken together, these trends point to a broader shift in how global risks are reshaping migration and financial behaviour.
According to a September 2025 report by The Times of India, JP Morgan economists Michael Feroli and Aviel Reinhar have raised concerns over the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s executive order introducing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications. Their report predicts that the policy could reduce the number of work authorisations in the US by up to 5,500 per month. This estimate is based on roughly 65,000 new H-1B petitions processed at consulates abroad, which are most likely to be affected by the fee.
The sharp rise in NRIs buying term insurance is not just a temporary spike; it's a structural change. The world is becoming more uncertain, and people are becoming more aware of their finances and able to access them online. This is speeding up the move toward risk protection.
Impact on Indian professionals
According to reports, this week, Congress looked into the H-1B visa programme again as lawmakers talked about making changes to help the economy grow and deal with labor shortages in an aging workforce. The H-1B visa programme is a key way for Indian professionals to work in the US. At a hearing of the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, policymakers and experts asked if the current lottery-based system is working, and they suggested everything from choosing workers based on their pay to giving them more freedom to move around.
As published in the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) website, Chairman David Schweikert said the US faces a demographic challenge that could weaken long-term economic stability. Schweikert raised concerns about whether the current H-1B system suppresses wages due to its employer-sponsored structure and limited worker mobility. The hearing focused on labour inflows as the country grapples with near-zero population growth, declining fertility rates, and a shrinking pool of young workers entering the workforce. Lawmakers also examined the broader economic impact of immigration. Witnesses said high-skilled immigration boosts productivity and long-term wage growth, though it can create short-term fiscal pressures due to increased demand for services.
The programme has long been debated in Washington, with policymakers balancing the need to attract global talent against concerns over wages, worker protections and the structure of visa allocation.
Big Tech Hiring Trends
According to the US Department of Labour, Big Tech firms like Amazon, Meta, Google, Apple and Microsoft have sharply reduced their H-1B visa filings, reflecting both tighter immigration rules and widespread layoffs across the tech industry.
The Business Insider report further stated that the filings covering the first quarter of fiscal 2026 (October-December 2025), reveal a steep decline as compared to the same period a year earlier.
Cost to Sponsor H-1B visa in 2026
On Friday, September 19, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a Proclamation, "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," that took an important, initial and incremental step to reform the H-1B visa program to curb abuses and protect American workers.
This Proclamation requires a $100,000 payment to accompany any new H-1B visa petitions submitted after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025. This includes the 2026 lottery, and any other H-1B petitions submitted after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sept. 21, 2025. Moreover, this does not change any payments or fees required to be submitted in connection with any H-1B renewals. The fee is a one-time fee on submission of a new H-1B petition.
