There is a notable decline in sponsorships of H-1B visas, particularly by major US tech companies, as revealed in a data analysis for 2024.
How Did This Happen?
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that this report signals a shift in the landscape of foreign employment in the US as tech giants such as Amazon, Infosys, Google, and IBM have reduced the number of H-1B visas issued this year.
Interestingly, Indian nationals continue to dominate the pool of H-1B visa holders.
They had over 72% of all H-1B visa recipients in 2023, it appears that the US companies appear to be scaling back their reliance on this visa category.
Basically, this recent trend is in contrast with the surge in H-1B applications by US-based firms like Amazon and Google in recent years.
It seems that several Indian IT firms are focusing more on local recruitment and Green Card sponsorship.
As we know, the H-1B visa program allows US companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.
Basically, it played a crucial pathway for skilled immigrants, particularly from India.
But as we have mentioned earlier, the 2024 data suggests a shift in this trend, with companies opting for alternative strategies or focusing on domestic talent.
Top 10 Companies Sponsored Most H-1B Visas
Let’s go through the top 10 companies who have sponsored the most H-1B visas in 2024, as per the data released by USCIS.
1) Amazon Com Services LLC with 9,265 approvals
2) Infosys Limited with 8,140 approvals
3) Cognizant Technology Solutions with 6,321 approvals
4) Google LLCwith 5,364 approvals
5) Tata Consultancy Services Limited with 5,274 approvals
6) Meta Platforms Inc with 4,844 approvals
7) Microsoft Corporation with 4,725 approvals
8) Apple Inc with 3,873 approvals
9) HCL America Inc with 2,953 approvals
10) IBM Corporation with 2,906 approvals
It is noteworthy here that companies such as Amazon and Indian IT services firms Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), have significantly reduced their sponsorship of H-1B visas in 2024.
Besides this there is another revelation in this USCIS data indicating a significant decline in H-1B visa approvals for nearly all of the top 15 sponsoring companies, for the fiscal year 2024 (October 1 to September 30).
As of, Amazon remains the largest sponsor but its approvals decreased from over 11,000 in 2023 to just above 7,000 in 2024.
In the case of the Indian tech giants including Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, both with substantial US operations, also saw considerable drops.
