Anthropic warned the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 26, 2026, that restrictions on skilled-worker immigration could hinder its ability to recruit and retain qualified employees. The warning appears in the S-1 registration statement filed ahead of a potential public offering.
The company identifies talent as a business advantage. Its filing says changes that restrain the flow of professional and technical workers could harm its prospects, finances and results.
“Changes to immigration policies that restrain the flow of professional and technical talent, including but not limited to U.S. immigration policies, may inhibit our ability to recruit and retain highly qualified employees. If we are unable to effectively manage the foregoing risks, our prospects, business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected”
The potential IPO could value the company near $2 trillion as early as next month. The filing lists other risks, including government nationalization of its technology and a bad actor using Claude to create biological weapons.
The immigration section does not name President Trump or his administration. Separately, the company warns that its AI policy engagement and public statements could bring government scrutiny, investigations, enforcement actions, licensing limits and “targeted immigration or visa actions affecting our personnel.” Fortune first highlighted the immigration disclosure in the filing.
The company’s visa figures show its hiring exposure
USCIS data records 219 H-1B beneficiaries approved for the company between fiscal years 2021 and 2026. Federal Labor Department data shows certified applications for new hires rose to 59 in Q2 2026, from 10 a year earlier.
That was the biggest year-over-year percentage increase among major technology companies in the data. OpenAI’s applications increased to 63 from 20, while Nvidia’s rose to 765 from 641.
Google’s certified applications fell 64%. Meta, Microsoft and Amazon also recorded declines.
USCIS received 211,600 properly submitted applications for the 2027 allocation, down from 343,981 the previous year. Rules giving higher-paid applicants better lottery odds disadvantage younger workers.
“The $100,000 H-1B visa fee represents a rounding error against the cost of not landing the right researcher,” said Raghu Shivakumar of Nexocean. Immigration lawyer Justin Parsons said some employers skipped this year’s lottery to see how the new rules would work.
The two H-1B fee changes have different legal standing
| Fee action | Status and details |
|---|---|
| $100,000 fee | Introduced in September 2025 for certain H-1B petitions. A federal judge in Massachusetts vacated the change in June 2026; the administration appealed, and court orders continue to block collection. |
| $103,265 fee | USCIS has proposed this separate charge. It would be added to the $100,000 fee if that fee survives court challenges. |
When the administration announced the first fee, it said the measure would “address the abuse of the program, stop the undercutting of wages, and protect our national security.” Another judge had earlier upheld the fee increase before the Massachusetts ruling.
Last month, TechNet urged USCIS to withdraw the proposed $103,265 charge. Its members include the company, Amazon, Google and Meta.
“TechNet's member companies depend on a skilled workforce to develop technologies, expand U.S. operations, and create opportunities for American workers”
The existing charge remains blocked by court orders. The separate USCIS proposal is not in effect.
Visa screening and employment rules add other constraints
The administration has ordered greater scrutiny of companies that lay off American workers. It has also proposed ending the 60-day grace period that lets foreign workers stay in the United States after losing a job.
Microsoft, Adobe and several other technology companies have been suspended from PERM, the permanent labor certification program that serves as a key step toward employment-based green cards.
Since 2025, the State Department has required online-presence reviews for H-1B applicants and their H-4 dependents. Applicants are instructed to make social-media profiles public so officials can identify people considered inadmissible, including potential national-security or public-safety threats.
The filing describes both talent needs and government scrutiny
The company says retaining exceptional employees and recruiting researchers and engineers who share its mission are central to maintaining its talent base. It did not identify one visa category as the sole concern.
In a 2023 letter to the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS, the company said it had used H-1B visas to fill positions “requiring advanced skills.” It also described a domestic shortage of qualified STEM workers as a challenge to hiring highly skilled artificial intelligence experts.
The disclosure does not single out the administration. Instead, it describes immigration limits broadly, while warning that the company’s advocacy and public positions on AI could prompt selective government action affecting staff.
The S-1 pairs rapid revenue growth with reported losses
| Measure | Figure in the filing |
|---|---|
| Revenue per employee | Above $6.6 million for the 12 months ending September 2026, up 371% from $1.4 million in the preceding 12-month period |
| Annual revenue | $41 million in 2023; $386 million in 2024; $4.6 billion in 2025 |
| Six-month revenue | $16.3 billion for the period ended June 30, 2026, up 1,300 percent year over year |
| Net loss | $41.97 billion in 2025 and $80.75 billion in the first six months of 2026 |
The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under ticker ANT. It has not determined the number of shares or a price range.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley lead the underwriting group, which also includes J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Barclays and Wells Fargo Securities. Founded in 2021, the company is a public benefit corporation.
Its Long-Term Benefit Trust generally can elect and remove a majority of the board. CEO Dario Amodei, President Daniela Amodei and five other co-founders will hold special Class F stock through a founders’ entity.
Analysts see a possible cost before an operating disruption
Value Add VC’s Trace Cohen said the disclosure flags a business concern without naming Trump during the company’s IPO roadshow. He identified whether USCIS finalizes the newer fee proposal before that roadshow as a development to watch.
AllMind called access to talent “a valuation sensitivity, not yet an operating event.” Its analysis said tighter access to specialized researchers and data-center operators could lengthen product and infrastructure timelines, while increasing compensation for scarce U.S.-based workers.
