Is the US Banning H-1B Visas for Indians? What the October 2026 Crackdown Really Means

Quick answer: The US has not banned H-1B or other visas for Indian citizens. What happened on 8 October 2026 is narrower and, for many families, worse: the US Department of Labor suspended eight employers, including TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant and Capgemini, from PERM, the labour certification step that starts an employment-based green card. That comes on top of a renewed $100,000 entry payment for new H-1B workers from abroad, the end of visa stamping in third countries, and stamping slots in India that are months away. Your current H-1B is not cancelled. Your path to a green card, or to a new H-1B, just got much harder. If your real goal is to earn in US dollars from US clients, a US LLC owned from India needs no visa at all.

What actually happened on 8 October 2026

At a press conference with Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Todd Blanche, under the US Anti-Fraud Task Force, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced that he was “suspending from the Permanent Labor Certification Program some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world.”

• Who: Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant and Capgemini. Microsoft and Adobe were also suspended, with the Department citing active federal investigations for those two.
• What: These companies cannot file new PERM applications, and their pending ones will not be processed, while the suspension lasts. No end date has been announced.
• Why, according to the government: Sonderling said the named firms received more than 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications since 2009, and accused them of displacing American workers. These are allegations, not findings.

Is this an H-1B ban? No. Here is the difference

Most headlines in India say “H-1B ban”. It is not one, and the difference matters for what you do next.

• Your existing H-1B status is not cancelled. PERM is the green card route, not the H-1B visa itself.
• Your green card clock is what stops. If your employer had not finished PERM for you, you have no priority date yet, and for Indians in EB-2 and EB-3 the queue was already measured in decades.
• The six-year limit becomes the real danger. H-1B holders can usually extend beyond six years only if their green card process reached certain stages. Someone at year five with no PERM filed now has a hard deadline.
• Switching employers is the escape hatch, and everyone will try it. A new, non-suspended employer can start PERM again, but that means a new job in a market where those firms are hiring fewer visa holders.

The bigger picture: four doors narrowing at once

The PERM suspension is the newest rule, but it lands on top of three others that already hit Indians hardest:

1. The $100,000 H-1B payment. The September 2025 proclamation required a $100,000 payment for new H-1B workers entering from abroad. A federal court in Massachusetts vacated its implementation on 8 June 2026 and the First Circuit refused to pause that ruling, but on 18 September 2026 the President signed a new proclamation renewing the requirement for another 12 months from 21 September 2026. More litigation is expected. Separately, DHS has proposed a $103,265 regulatory fee, which is not final.
2. No more stamping in third countries. Since September 2025, visa applicants must generally apply in their country of nationality or residence. For an Indian H-1B holder that means an Indian consulate, and interview waivers for H-1B renewals ended on 1 October 2025.
3. Long waits in India. Wait-time estimates for petition-based visas (H, L, O) in India range from about a month to more than five months depending on the city, and some applicants report no H-1B slots before 2027.
4. Tougher student and visitor visas. F-1 issuance to Indians dropped sharply in 2025, and B1/B2 renewals now face stricter interview-waiver rules and a new $250 visa integrity fee.

Put together: getting to the US on a work visa, staying there, and turning that stay into a green card have all become slower, costlier and less certain for Indians in the same twelve months.

What this means for Indians, by situation

If you are on H-1B at TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant or Capgemini

Ask HR, in writing, what stage your green card process is at. If your I-140 is already approved, your priority date is generally safe. If PERM was pending or not filed, speak to an immigration attorney about your six-year date this month, not next year.

If you are in India hoping to go on H-1B

Assume the next two years are uncertain: fees, lotteries, consulate slots and employer appetite are all moving against you. Plan a version of your career that does not depend on a visa decision you do not control.

If you are a freelancer, agency owner or SaaS founder in India

This crackdown does not touch you directly, and it shows something useful: US clients still need the work done. When it gets harder to bring talent to the US, more of that work is contracted out. The constraint for most Indian businesses is not talent; it is getting paid like a US vendor.

The solution: work for US clients without a US visa

A visa decides where your body is allowed to work. It does not decide who you are allowed to sell to. A US limited liability company (LLC) lets an Indian resident own a US business from India, invoice American clients in dollars, and get paid into a US business bank account, without travelling, without an SSN and without any visa.

• No visa, no US travel. A non-US citizen can own 100% of a US LLC. Formation, EIN and banking can all be done remotely.
• Clients trust a US vendor. Many US companies and platforms prefer, or require, a US entity with an EIN and W-9 rather than an overseas freelancer.
• US payment rails. ACH and Stripe payouts into a Mercury or Relay account instead of PayPal fees and slow wire transfers.
• Low running cost. A Wyoming LLC has a $103.75 state filing fee and a $60 annual report, with no state income tax.

What a US LLC will not do (read this before you buy anything)

We would rather lose a sale than mislead you.

• An LLC is not a visa. Owning a US company does not give you the right to live or work in the US. Anyone who sells you an LLC as an immigration shortcut is selling you a problem.
• There is no E-2 investor visa for Indians. India is not an E-2 treaty country, so the “start a business and move” route used by some other nationalities is not open to Indian citizens.
• If you are on H-1B inside the US, you can generally own an LLC as a passive investor, but you cannot actively work for it without separate work authorization. Talk to an immigration attorney before you do anything beyond owning shares.
• Indian law still applies. As an Indian resident you must report the LLC as an overseas direct investment (Form FC through your bank), declare it in Schedule FA of your ITR, and bring export earnings home within the RBI timelines. Our Bring Money Home guide covers the two legal routes.

How to set up a US LLC from India, step by step

1. Pick a state. Wyoming suits most Indian founders: low fees, no state income tax, strong privacy.
2. File the Articles of Organization with a registered agent and US business address.
3. Sign an Operating Agreement that names you as the owner.
4. Get an EIN without an SSN by faxing Form SS-4 to the IRS. For a foreign owner this takes about four to six weeks.
5. Open a US business bank account with a bank that onboards owners living in India, such as Mercury or Relay.
6. Handle the India side: Form FC before your first transfer, Export Declaration Forms for your invoices from 1 October 2026, and Schedule FA every year.

Frequently asked questions

Has the US banned H-1B visas for Indians in 2026?

No. There is no country-specific ban on H-1B or other visas for Indians. On 8 October 2026 the US Department of Labor suspended eight employers, including TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant and Capgemini, from the PERM green card process. Separately, a $100,000 payment requirement for new H-1B workers from abroad was renewed in September 2026 and is being challenged in court.

Will H-1B workers at TCS, Infosys or Wipro lose their jobs or visas?

The PERM suspension does not cancel existing H-1B status or green cards already issued. It stops new and pending labour certifications at those employers, which can delay green cards and create problems for workers approaching the six-year H-1B limit without an approved I-140.

Is the $100,000 H-1B fee in effect?

It is contested. A federal court vacated the earlier implementation in June 2026, and a new proclamation renewed the requirement from 21 September 2026 for 12 months. It applies to new petitions for workers outside the US, not to existing H-1B holders renewing inside the country. Check USCIS and an attorney before filing.

Can I form a US LLC from India without a visa?

Yes. An Indian resident can own 100% of a US LLC, get an EIN without an SSN, and open a US business bank account remotely. No visa or US visit is needed.

Does owning a US LLC give me a US visa or green card?

No. An LLC is a business, not an immigration status. India is not an E-2 treaty country, so the E-2 investor visa is not available to Indian citizens.

Can an H-1B holder own a US LLC?

Generally yes, as a passive owner. An H-1B holder cannot actively work for or run the LLC without separate work authorization. Get immigration advice before taking any active role.

How much does a Wyoming LLC cost for an Indian founder?

The Wyoming state fee is $103.75, plus $60 a year for the annual report. USBizGuru charges a one-time fee from $49 on top of that, with no yearly subscription.

Sources

• Outlook India, 9 October 2026: US suspends green card filings by Indian IT firms: what it means for H-1B workers.
• BusinessToday, 8 October 2026: US suspends Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Cognizant as Vance targets H-1B abuse.
• Mintz, 23 September 2026: Presidential proclamation extends the $100K H-1B fee.
• US Department of State: Global visa wait times.
• US Department of Labor: Office of Foreign Labor Certification.

Start your US company from India

The visa door is narrowing. The client door is not. If you want to sell to US clients as a US company without leaving India, start your Wyoming LLC with USBizGuru from $49 plus the state fee, or compare the packages. We handle the US filing, the EIN without an SSN, and the India side most providers never mention: Form FC, EDF tracking and Schedule FA reminders, with support on WhatsApp in English, Hindi and Gujarati.

Updated 9 October 2026. This is a fast-moving story; rules may change after publication. General information, not legal, immigration or tax advice.