India, Sept. 9 -- Demand for the H-1B visa fell sharply among some of the program's biggest users after the Trump administration introduced a $100,000 fee for certain new foreign workers, with major IT companies cutting or abandoning their entries in the annual visa lottery.

According to data from the US Department of Homeland Security, H-1B lottery entries dropped by 85% to 100% at companies most affected by the fee imposed on workers entering the US from abroad.

The decline was particularly steep among major IT staffing and consulting companies. Infosys cut its lottery entries by more than 8,100 this year, a 91% fall from the previous year, while Tata Consultancy Services reduced entries by more than 5,600, or 95%.

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