- Major tech firms including Amazon and Google sharply reduced H-1B filings in early fiscal year 2026.
- A new wage-weighted lottery system and $100,000 fees have significantly increased sponsorship costs for employers.
- Selection odds improved to approximately 50 percent as total registrations fell due to new anti-fraud reforms.
(UNITED STATES) — Amazon, Google and Meta sharply reduced H-1B filings in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, as Department of Labor data showed a pullback by some of the biggest names in tech during October-December 2025.
Amazon’s certified applications fell from 4,647 in Q1 FY2025 to 3,057 in Q1 FY2026, a 34% decline. Google and Meta each saw filings fall by roughly 50% year-over-year.
Apple and Microsoft also filed fewer certified H-1B applications than a year earlier. IBM, Salesforce and Tesla showed similar declines, though those drops were less steep than the reductions at Google and Meta.
The filings tracked here are Labor Condition Applications, or LCAs, certified by the Department of Labor. Those certifications are meant to ensure foreign workers receive prevailing wages and that employers do not displace U.S. workers.
That distinction matters. LCAs are not final visa approvals, and they are not lottery selections.
The downturn in H-1B filings came after immigration policy changes since September 2025 under the Trump administration increased costs and scrutiny for employers seeking to bring in workers from abroad. Those changes included a $100,000 fee for new petitions from workers abroad, social media vetting, heightened scrutiny, and a shift to a wage-weighted H-1B lottery that favors higher-paid applicants.
At the same time, tech companies cut jobs and slowed hiring. That combination appears in the filing data.
Amazon eliminated 16,000 corporate roles in January 2026 after 14,000 in October 2025. Meta laid off hundreds in March 2026, Microsoft cut 15,000 between May-July 2025, and Google made smaller cuts.
Those workforce reductions unfolded as companies pressed efficiency drives and put more emphasis on artificial intelligence. The same period also produced a different result at Nvidia, which increased filings amid AI expansion.
The broader H-1B picture for fiscal 2026 also shifted. Eligible registrations fell 27% to roughly 344,000 from over 470,000 in FY2025 due to anti-fraud reforms limiting multiple entries per applicant.
Yet the annual cap did not change. It remained at 85,000 visas, made up of 65,000 regular slots and 20,000 master’s exemption visas.
With fewer eligible registrations competing for the same number of visas, selection odds improved to around 50% per immigration attorneys. That change marked a rare easing in a system that has long drawn demand far beyond the number of visas available.
For employers, the latest Department of Labor data points to a more selective and more expensive environment. A $100,000 fee for new petitions from workers abroad raises the cost of sponsorship, while a wage-weighted lottery shifts the advantage toward higher-paid roles.
That can alter filing strategies even before a case reaches the visa stage. Because employers file LCAs before final H-1B petition steps, a decline in certified applications can offer an early read on hiring demand and sponsorship appetite.
Amazon’s drop illustrates the scale of the change. A fall from 4,647 to 3,057 in a single first quarter left the company with 1,590 fewer certified applications than in the same period a year earlier.
Google and Meta posted even steeper percentage declines. Each cut filings by roughly 50% year-over-year, underscoring how sharply some large employers appear to be rethinking their use of the program.
The declines at Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Salesforce and Tesla suggest the trend reached beyond a few firms. Even so, the source data described those reductions as less steep than the drops at Google and Meta.
Department of Labor certifications do not reveal how many workers will ultimately receive visas. They also do not show which employers will go on to submit final petitions after the LCA stage.
Still, LCAs remain one of the clearest early indicators in the H-1B process. Employers use them to clear wage and labor rules before moving ahead, so a fall in certifications can signal weaker demand for sponsorship, stricter internal screening, or both.
In fiscal 2026, both forces appear to be at work. Immigration policy changes increased the financial risk of filing, and layoffs reduced the need for companies to add workers in some parts of their businesses.
A wage-weighted lottery adds another layer. If higher-paid applicants stand a better chance, employers may concentrate filings in senior or specialized jobs instead of casting a wider net across entry and mid-level roles.
That shift could change who benefits from the H-1B system even if overall selection odds improve. Better lottery odds do not necessarily mean broader access if companies file fewer applications and focus more tightly on high-wage positions.
The anti-fraud reforms also reshaped the pool. Eligible registrations fell 27% to roughly 344,000 from over 470,000 in FY2025 because the reforms limited multiple entries per applicant.
That decline reduced pressure on the annual cap of 85,000 visas. On paper, a smaller registration pool improves the math for those who remain.
But the Department of Labor numbers show fewer filings from several of the companies that have historically been among the most active users of the H-1B program. That means improved odds in the lottery are arriving at the same time as weaker demand from some of the largest employers.
Amazon, Google and Meta sit at the center of that contrast. They reduced filings sharply even as the overall registration pool shrank and selection odds rose to around 50% per immigration attorneys.
The reasons laid out in the data are not hard to trace. Higher costs, added screening and a wage-weighted lottery all raise the stakes for employers, while layoffs and hiring slowdowns reduce the number of roles companies are trying to fill.
Amazon’s two rounds of corporate cuts — 14,000 in October 2025 and 16,000 in January 2026 — overlapped with the quarter in which its H-1B certifications fell. Meta’s layoffs in March 2026 came after its roughly 50% year-over-year drop in filings, while Microsoft’s cuts of 15,000 between May-July 2025 preceded its own decline.
Google made smaller cuts, but it also reduced filings by roughly 50% year-over-year. That suggests broad hiring caution can show up in visa activity even when workforce reductions are not as deep as those at peers.
The outlier was Nvidia. Its increase in filings amid AI expansion points to an important divide inside the tech industry.
As companies funnel more resources toward artificial intelligence, demand for certain skills can rise even while other teams shrink. That could counterbalance declines in other segments of tech hiring, especially if firms reserve H-1B sponsorship for jobs tied to AI growth.
The next quarter will test whether the first-quarter declines mark a sustained reset or an initial response to policy and labor-market changes. Q2 FY2026 filings will offer a clearer view of whether employers continue to pull back or start to adjust to the new rules.
Further policy changes could also matter. Any additional fee adjustments, new scrutiny standards or changes to lottery mechanics would affect the cost and appeal of filing.
For now, the first-quarter data shows a changed market. Amazon, Google and Meta cut H-1B filings sharply, other large tech companies also filed fewer applications, and the program’s economics shifted even as the annual visa cap stayed fixed.
That leaves employers weighing cost against need, and applicants facing a system where selection odds improved to around 50% but opportunities may be concentrated in fewer jobs and, increasingly, in higher-wage roles.
