WASHINGTON, D.C. — Major U.S. technology companies filed fewer H-1B visa applications in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 than in the same period a year earlier, according to Department of Labor data. The decline came as the Trump administration implemented changes to the H-1B visa program that increased costs and tightened scrutiny for companies using the program.

Amazon had the highest number of certified H-1B and similar visa applications among employers, with certified applications dropping from 4,647 in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to 3,057 in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft also saw their certified H-1B visa applications decline over the same period. Both Google and Meta saw their certified applications fall by roughly half year-over-year. IBM, Salesforce, and Tesla also filed fewer applications in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 than in the prior year's first quarter.

The federal government's fiscal first quarter runs from October through December. Certified H-1B and similar visa applications are those that the Labor Department has reviewed to ensure that prospective workers will be paid similarly to other workers in similar roles and that their employment will not adversely affect other workers. The certification figures reflect certifications but not final visa approvals or lottery selections, and multiple filings can correspond to a single worker.

Not all major technology firms followed the downward trend. Nvidia filed 434 H-1B visa applications in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, up from 369 in the same period a year earlier. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company will continue hiring immigrants after the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications.

The administration implemented new H-1B visa rules that gave preference in the lottery to higher-paid applicants and imposed the $100,000 fee on new petitions for workers living abroad. According to a government statement, the rule changes aimed to curb fraud and encourage employers to hire U.S. workers. Jason Finkelman, a Texas employment and family immigration lawyer, said companies have faced higher scrutiny of visa applications under the new rules.

Finkelman said H-1B visa filings in the first quarter are typically lower because employers during that period mostly file petitions for workers seeking to change jobs or extend their visas. Filings increase in the second quarter when the annual lottery occurs, awarding 85,000 visas. Annual tallies may vary based on hiring cycles and other factors beyond the first-quarter preliminary numbers.

The filing declines coincided with a period of workforce reductions across the technology sector. Amazon cut 14,000 corporate roles in October 2025 and an additional 16,000 corporate roles in January 2026. Microsoft cut 15,000 employees in multiple layoff rounds between May and July 2025. Meta laid off hundreds of employees in March 2026. Google conducted smaller rounds of workforce cuts.