Overview
- Federal Labor Department data show Anthropic, OpenAI and Nvidia increased certified H‑1B filings in Q2 fiscal 2026 while Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon reported year‑over‑year declines.
- USCIS received 211,600 properly submitted H‑1B applications for the 2027 allocation, down from 343,981 the prior year, a drop recruiters say reflects firms pausing to assess the new rules.
- The new wage‑tier system gives applicants paid at higher salary levels better odds in the lottery and a temporary $100,000 fee for overseas applicants raised sponsorship costs for employers.
- Recruiters and immigration lawyers say leading AI companies are absorbing higher visa costs to secure scarce researchers, while other firms are cutting teams, forming smaller specialist 'pods,' or shifting work overseas to avoid visa exposure.
- Labor Department certification counts are not final visa approvals and can include renewals or multiple filings for one person, a detail that clouds simple comparisons but does not change the clear split in employer strategies and its likely impact on early‑career foreign hires.