Big Tech Tightens Its Grip on America’s H-1B Talent Pipeline

Image taken from timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A fresh analysis from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), based on newly released USCIS H-1B data, shows a decisive power shift in the United States’ high-skilled immigration landscape. For years, Indian IT giants dominated the leaderboard for new H-1B approvals. But in FY25, America’s biggest technology companies have taken over the top ranks entirely, reshaping the flow of global talent into the country.

Among the four U.S. tech giants, Amazon stands far ahead with 4,644 H-1B approvals for initial employment, the highest for any single company this year. Meta follows at a distant second with 1,555 approvals, while Microsoft and Google secured 1,394 and 1,050 approvals respectively. Much of this surge stems from the tech industry’s aggressive pivot toward artificial intelligence, with U.S. majors preparing for a combined investment of nearly $380 billion on AI capabilities in 2025. This ramp-up has unlocked an unprecedented level of hiring for engineers, data scientists and AI specialists from across the world.

The data also reflects a sharp turning point for Indian IT companies. According to NFAP, only three Indian firms made it into the top 25 list for FY25. The top seven Indian IT companies collectively received 4,573 approvals for initial employment — a 70 percent drop compared to FY15 and 37 percent lower than FY24. For a sector that once led America’s H-1B intake year after year, the decline marks a structural shift in how and where U.S. employers source their technical expertise.

Behind these trends lies a long-standing constraint: the annual H-1B cap. Each year, only 65,000 general slots and 20,000 advanced-degree exemptions are available, totaling 85,000. With 4,42,000 unique applicants entering the FY25 lottery, more than 300,000 qualified individuals were turned away simply because the system ran out of visas. Analysts argue that the cap covers just 0.05 percent of the U.S. workforce and bears little resemblance to the country’s actual demand for STEM talent.

Yet the H-1B ecosystem is far broader than the headline numbers suggest. NFAP notes that more than 28,000 U.S. employers received approval to hire at least one new H-1B worker in FY25. Most of these companies hired fewer than ten workers, highlighting how deeply the program is woven into America’s innovation economy. Job mobility among visa holders is also stronger than commonly understood. More than 68,000 individuals changed employers during FY25, proving that H-1B professionals are not locked to a single company and routinely pursue better opportunities when available.

Denial rates, once dramatically high during the Trump administration, have stabilised. Initial employment petitions saw a denial rate of 2.8 percent in FY25, still slightly above FY22 levels but far below the 24 percent peak in FY18. Continuing employment petitions, which include extensions and amendments, recorded a denial rate of 1.9 percent. These figures reflect a regulatory landscape that has gradually reverted to pre-2017 norms.

Salary data also challenges long-standing myths. USCIS reports that the average annual salary for H-1B workers in computer-related roles is $136,000, with a median of $125,000. Combined with employer expenses — which can reach up to $34,900 for a single worker and up to $50,000 when green card sponsorship is included — the evidence strongly contradicts the idea that H-1B talent constitutes “cheap labor.” Educational backgrounds further reinforce the program’s high-skill profile, with nearly two-thirds of approved FY24 beneficiaries holding a master’s degree or higher.

Geographically, California, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Virginia lead in new H-1B approvals, while New York City tops the list among individual cities. The professional, scientific and technical services sector remains the largest consumer of these visas, followed by education, manufacturing, information services, healthcare and finance. Parallel to these trends, U.S.-born employment in computer and mathematical fields has surged, rising by more than 2.7 million jobs since 2003. This growth mirrors the broader expansion of the technology sector, showing that foreign-born workers supplement — rather than replace — the local workforce.

Multiple academic studies support this perspective. Research by Wharton’s Britta Glennon shows that restricting H-1B access drives companies to shift jobs abroad, often on a nearly one-to-one basis. Work by economist Madeline Zavodny highlights that H-1B workers are associated with lower unemployment and stronger wage growth for college-educated Americans. And further research led by economist Giovanni Peri suggests that strict visa caps prevent companies from creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the U.S.

The FY25 data ultimately captures a defining moment in the global talent race. As American tech giants scale up their AI ambitions, they are pulling in more international expertise than ever before, leaving Indian IT companies with a smaller share of the talent pool. With demand far outstripping supply and policy debates intensifying ahead of another election cycle, the future of the H-1B program — and its role in U.S. innovation — is poised to remain at the center of national conversation.