A sharp decline in H-1B visa applications reveals Big Tech's contradictory approach to talent acquisition during the AI boom. While companies pour billions into artificial intelligence development, they're simultaneously cutting thousands of jobs and reducing sponsorship for foreign workers.
Department of Labor data shows certified H-1B applications at Amazon dropped from 4,647 in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to 3,057 in the same period this year. Meta and Google saw their filings roughly halve during that timeframe.
Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Salesforce and Tesla also recorded declines.
The trend coincides with successive rounds of job cuts across the industry, including Oracle's recent elimination of approximately 30,000 positions globally. Amazon eliminated 16,000 corporate positions in January following 14,000 cuts last October.
Meta laid off hundreds of employees in March while Microsoft trimmed 15,000 workers between May and July last year.
Policy changes implemented under the Trump administration have made the visa program more expensive and restrictive. New rules introduced last year include a $100,000 fee for H-1B petitions filed for workers living outside the United States. The lottery system now favors highest-paid applicants through a wage-weighted process rather than random selection.
Immigration attorney Jason Finkelman noted companies face higher scrutiny of all visa applications under current policies.
"Companies are being more selective in who they sponsor," he said.
Eligible H-1B registrations fell approximately 27 percent for fiscal 2026 according to federal data, declining to roughly 344,000 from more than 470,000 a year earlier. Despite fewer overall applications hitting an unchanged annual cap of 85,000 visas, selection rates have climbed to around 50 percent in the latest cycle.
Nvidia represents a notable exception to the trends. The chipmaker increased its H-1B filings from 369 in Q1 2025 to 434 this year.
CEO Jensen Huang has committed to continuing immigrant hiring despite the new $100,000 application fee.
The decline comes as tech companies face increased consular processing delays caused by social media reviews required under new rules earlier this year. Amazon allowed employees stranded in India due to visa delays to work remotely until March but restricted them from coding or strategic decision-making.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged some misuse of the program by outsourcing firms but warned ending it entirely "would actually be very bad." He emphasized his companies struggle to find enough skilled workers domestically.
