(UNITED STATES) — U.S. employers reassessed immigration hiring plans on Friday as a market rally lifted confidence in new headcount and sponsorship budgets, with companies weighing stronger demand for H-1B hiring and longer green card pipelines against higher costs and tighter selection rules.
Companies often revisit visa sponsorship when equities rise and balance sheets look stronger, because legal fees, compliance work and relocation costs compete with other spending priorities. Employers also watched trade-policy signals after a U.S. Supreme Court tariff ruling on February 20, 2026 reduced uncertainty and markets reacted positively.
Recruiting teams and finance executives commonly treat Stock Market Growth as a proxy for risk tolerance, especially at public companies. When projections improve, managers can restart paused immigration cases and approve roles that require international searches.
Stronger stock prices can also improve access to capital, which supports growth projects that need specialized talent. Tech roles tied to AI infrastructure and cloud, manufacturing roles tied to capital spending, and logistics roles tied to automation often sit high on that list, and they also appear frequently in H-1B sponsorship plans.
H-1B hiring tends to move with markets because the program usually starts as an employer decision to build capacity rather than fill a short-term gap. If executives turn “risk-on,” companies can approve more headcount, expand recruiting budgets, and accept the added work of sponsorship.
Capital market conditions matter as much as labor market signals for some employers. A higher market cap can lower the cost of capital and improve financing terms, which can accelerate projects that require specific skills and push companies toward specialized hiring rather than delaying growth.
Sector dynamics can still drive international hiring even when broader conditions look uneven. The same market themes that lift parts of the equity market, including AI, cloud and semiconductors, have kept some employers searching globally for high-skill workers.
Immigration spending, however, remains sensitive to policy costs, and that can cut against hiring confidence. When immigration fees rise or rules tighten, companies can pare back new filings even when their stock performs well.
Trade policy also sits in the background of hiring plans, particularly for firms with global supply chains. Reduced volatility helps companies forecast costs and decide whether to expand U.S. operations now or wait.
Steadier trade assumptions can translate into more hiring because companies feel more confident about pricing and sourcing. Cross-border staffing can rise when uncertainty falls, including L-1 assignments for intracompany transfers and specialized hiring through the H-1B program.
Friday’s market reaction followed the Supreme Court tariff decision on February 20, 2026, which employers and investors treated as a reduction in trade-policy shock risk. Companies that tie staffing to supply-chain investment often watch that kind of signal closely.
Market strength can also influence the pipeline for employment-based green cards, where employers decide whether to commit to a multi-step sponsorship that can take years. Bullish conditions can make it easier to fund long-term retention plans for hard-to-replace roles.
Employment-based cases typically move through PERM labor certification at the Department of Labor, then an I-140 petition at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and then I-485 adjustment when a visa number is available. Employer commitment matters most at the start, when the company chooses to initiate PERM and follow through with later filings.
Even when employers increase filings, timing depends on backlogs and agency capacity. DOL PERM processing times remain lengthy, often well over a year by the government’s own reporting, and USCIS backlogs can shape how fast petitions and adjustments move.
Green Card Approvals also depend on visa number availability, which does not change with stock prices. Annual employment-based limits, country caps and Visa Bulletin movement govern supply, and USCIS has noted that EB annual limits have varied in recent fiscal years compared to pre-pandemic norms.
Policy changes in 2026 added another layer of constraint for employers, even as markets improved. The Department of Homeland Security announced changes in September 2025 that reshaped how the H-1B cap selects workers and how much some petitions can cost.
Under the new wage-weighted selection approach effective March 2026, H-1B registrations are weighted by prevailing wage levels, with Level 1 getting 1 chance, Level 2 getting 2, Level 3 getting 3, and Level 4 getting 4 chances. In projections described alongside the policy shift, Level IV rose from 15.5% to 26% of selections while Level I fell from 27% to 14%.
The same policy shift added a $100,000 supplemental fee for certain H-1B petitions, a jump that can raise total costs from thousands to over $100,000 per hire. That kind of exposure can change filing strategies, especially for small businesses, startups, nonprofits and healthcare employers.
Employers also braced for stricter reviews, with more Requests for Evidence focused on job roles, wage levels and degree requirements. The added scrutiny can slow hiring decisions and increase legal costs, which can push companies toward fewer, more senior roles.
Jill Bloom of Fragomen said companies may “pass on entry-level or mid-level key talent” as selection odds drop. That dynamic can reduce entry-level sponsorship appetite even if recruiting budgets expand.
Economic signals remained mixed even with the market rally, and the labor backdrop matters for entry-level hiring. U.S. payrolls added only 584,000 jobs in 2025, the smallest gain since 2010, a cooling trend that can dampen demand for junior hiring.
Analysts also described potential shifts in where sponsored roles land across industries. Wharton projected a change in sector concentration, reducing NAICS 5415 (tech consulting) concentration from 49.6% to 46.4% while boosting software publishers and finance.
DHS estimated higher wages tied to the new wage-weighted selection. The department projected $502 million more in H-1B wages for FY 2026, rising to $2 billion annually by FY 2029.
Selection mechanics still cap how many people can even reach the petition stage. For FY 2025, the lottery selected 120,603 from 470,342 registrations, a 25.6% rate under beneficiary-centric rules, figures that employers use when planning how many roles to register.
That combination creates a split between market-driven demand and policy-driven constraints. Risk-on conditions can accelerate specialized hiring in tech and AI, but higher fees and wage-weighting can disadvantage smaller employers and push some work toward nearshoring or outsourcing.
For workers, students and families, the cycle can shift quickly. Rising markets can bring more sponsor openings, a faster return of campus recruiting for F-1 students, and a higher likelihood that employers start PERM and I-140 filings for key talent.
A downturn can flip those incentives. Hiring freezes and layoffs can make employers more cautious on new H-1B filings, and green card starts can slow even if existing cases continue, while political scrutiny can increase during layoffs regardless of market direction.
Employers and applicants now look toward the next H-1B calendar as they absorb the March 2026 policy changes. The H-1B cap registration window for FY 2027 opens March 4–19, 2026, while DOL and USCIS backlogs and processing-time variability continue to shape the real timing of job starts and green card steps.
Stock Market Growth Drives H-1B Hiring and Boosts Green Card Approvals
Following a market rally and a key Supreme Court tariff ruling, U.S. companies are revisiting international hiring plans. However, new 2026 rules, including a wage-weighted H-1B lottery and massive supplemental fees, have fundamentally changed the cost-benefit analysis. While specialized AI and tech roles see continued demand, entry-level sponsorship is declining as selection odds favor high-wage earners, pushing firms to balance market confidence against regulatory hurdles.
