In a landmark shift in the United States’ high-skilled immigration pattern, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have, for the first time, emerged as the four largest recipients of approved H-1B visa petitions for initial employment, according to a new analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). Drawing on data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) H-1B Employer Data Hub, the report highlights how the intensifying race for artificial intelligence (AI) capability is rewriting the country’s hiring landscape.

Amazon secured the highest number of approvals in FY25, with 4,644 petitions cleared for initial employment. Meta Platforms followed with 1,555 approvals, ahead of Microsoft with 1,394 and Google with 1,050. The surge, the report notes, is closely tied to the combined $380 billion in AI-related expenditure planned by these firms for 2025, as cited by Mint.

This marks the first time that America’s largest technology companies have simultaneously occupied the top H-1B positions—while the presence of Indian IT companies in the top 25 has shrunk dramatically, with only three making the list. The trend reflects a rebalancing of demand: in FY25, the top seven Indian firms secured just 4,573 approvals for initial employment, a 70% decline from FY15 levels and 37% lower than in FY24.

H-1B petitions for initial employment—primarily for new hires—are capped at 65,000 annually, with a further 20,000 reserved for those holding advanced degrees from US universities. Although around 700,000 individuals currently live and work in America on H-1B status, NFAP points out that the cap represents a mere 0.05% of the US labour force. In FY25, 4,42,000 unique applicants participated in the lottery system, meaning more than 3,00,000 prospective hires were rejected purely due to the quota.

The report also states that 28,277 US employers secured approval for at least one new H-1B hire in FY25, underscoring the wide reliance on this visa for recruiting highly skilled foreign workers. Approximately 61% of these employers obtained just one approval, and 95% had ten or fewer.

Meanwhile, mobility within the H-1B workforce remains strong. Some 68,167 petitions were approved for workers switching employers, challenging claims that visa holders are effectively “indentured”. When combined with petitions for initial employment, 37% of H-1B professionals beginning new roles in FY25 were transfers from other companies.

The denial rate for initial employment petitions rose slightly to 2.8% in FY25, up from 2.5% in FY24 but still well below the Trump-era peak of 24% in FY18, when restrictive policies were in force before being struck down in court. Continuing employment petitions—largely extensions—recorded a 1.9% denial rate.

USCIS data shows that H-1B professionals remain among the most qualified in the workforce: in FY24, 63% of approved beneficiaries held a master’s degree or higher. Salaries also run high, with computer-related roles averaging $136,000 annually and a median of $125,000—contradicting claims that H-1B workers undercut wages.

However, employers face steep costs for sponsorship. According to NFAP estimates, filing and maintaining an H-1B petition, including extensions, can cost up to $34,900 over several years, rising to $50,000 when factoring in green card sponsorship.

Data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics indicates strong demand for technical talent, with unemployment in computer and mathematical occupations falling from 3.4% to 3.0% between August 2024 and August 2025. Engineering-related unemployment similarly declined from 1.7% to 1.4%.

California, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Virginia recorded the highest number of approved H-1B petitions for initial employment, with New York City topping the list of metropolitan areas.

The NFAP analysis also stresses that restricting skilled immigration tends to push jobs overseas. Citing research by Wharton School academic Britta Glennon, the report notes that when US companies fail to secure H-1B visas, they often expand operations abroad, hiring talent in offshore hubs at nearly a one-to-one ratio. This, NFAP warns, undermines US competitiveness by displacing innovation and investment beyond American borders.

At the same time, long-term data challenges the assumption that skilled immigrants reduce job opportunities for US-born workers. Employment among US-born professionals in computer science and mathematics has risen by 2.7 million—or 141%—since 2003. Including foreign-born workers, employment in these fields has grown 166%, while STEM roles overall have expanded by more than 3 million for US-born workers alone.

With demand continuing to outpace supply and AI investments accelerating, the report concludes that the current H-1B cap is misaligned with economic realities. Without policy reform, it warns, the US risks losing both talent and technological edge to global competitors.

First Published on Dec 1, 2025 2:44 PM