File: H-1B visa (Disclaimer: AI generated)

While Silicon Valley erupts over United States’ $100,000 H-1B visa fee, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet has a notably different take: the policy barely registers as a concern for her company. Sweet sees Trump’s $100,000 visa fee as minimal threat to operations, positioning policy shifts as revenue opportunities. Speaking during company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Sweet dismissed worries about the controversial immigration overhaul that sent tech companies scrambling over the weekend. Her reasoning is straightforward—Accenture simply doesn’t rely on H-1B visas the way other firms do.“This is really a non-issue because we only have about 5% of our people in the US on H-1B visas, and they’re for really specialised experience and skills for our clients,” Sweet told analysts. “So not something that is really a big impact on Accenture.”

Immigration policy changes drive consulting revenue, Accenture CEO says

Sweet went further, flipping the narrative entirely. Where competitors see obstacles, she sees opportunity—a perspective shaped by decades of helping clients adapt to regulatory upheaval.“Whether it’s healthcare or a lot of the different policy changes, remember, our business thrives by helping our clients navigate change,” Sweet explained. “Every time there’s big policy changes, and this has been true for decades, right? That’s why in our business, we have industry expertise, we have the functional expertise.”The CEO pointed to compliance requirements and new regulations as traditional business drivers. “When you have new compliance rules, et cetera, like that usually drives more business for us,” she said, adding that Accenture stays “close to our clients and help them navigate and take advantage and comply with new policy changes.”

Accenture’s model differs sharply from H-1B-dependent competitors

The confident stance reflects Accenture’s unique positioning. With over 779,000 employees globally—including more than 350,000 in India—the firm has built a delivery model less dependent on moving workers to the United States than many Indian IT service providers.This structural advantage allows Sweet to view Trump’s September 19 executive order through an entirely different lens than CEOs whose business models face direct disruption from the fee increase.