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Amazon, Microsoft among companies sponsoring more H-1B visas than before: Report
An analysis of federal data reportedly showed that many US employers had increased the use of H-1B visas in 2025.
US companies are reportedly sponsoring more H-1B visas than before, as per Newsweek. The data has caused worries online among American jobseekers.
This report comes at a time when there is a backlash against the H-1B visa system, and a concerted crackdown on immigration by the Donald Trump government.
What does the report say
The Newsweek report states that the biggest year-over-year gains via sponsorship were spread across different industries, with biggest rises being seen in consulting, finance, and tech firms.
Amazon continued to be the largest H-1B sponsor, with approvals increasing from 9,257 in 2024 to 10,044 in 2025, the publication noted. Other companies expanding foreign hiring include Meta, Apple, and Microsoft.
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“It's not surprising to see continued strong demand for H-1B visas, even among some businesses that have announced layoffs. Businesses that are laying off workers may be shifting their focus and still want to hire workers, but need a skill set that their existing workers don't have and that they cannot readily find among US workers,” Newsweek reported Madeline Zavodny, a professor of economics at the University of North Florida say.
The publication noted that while raw data seems to show a large increase in H-1B approvals among top US employers in 2025, experts have cautioned that these numbers include extensions, transfers, cap-exempt petitions, all of which make it tough to infer a direct rise in new foreign hiring.
Report sparks worries online
The report, which was published on September 8, was recently shared on a Reddit forum for American tech workers, and it sparked concern.
“This is bad,” one user remarked, while another added, “Sometimes it’s feeling a little hopeless.”
Yet another person commented, “i hate when i read there is no talent here (USA) to hire when literally 100000K workers in IT have been laid off .…They just want CHEAP as possible talent and that is the issue, USA has the talent in abundance.”
Notably, companies like Microsoft have faced flak for boosting visa sponsorships while announcing layoffs. Supporters of the H-1B system feel that it draws talent and helps boost US economy, but detractors, many of whom are on the Reddit forum where the post was shared, feel that it can undercut chances for US workers, especially when companies are looking to cut jobs in the US.
