Why AI firms like Anthropic, OpenAi are filing for more H-1B visas even while Big Tech cos pulled back

While much of Big Tech was pulling back from the H-1B visa programme, the biggest names in artificial intelligence were moving in the opposite direction. According to a Business Insider analysis of federal labour data, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Nvidia all increased their H-1B filings in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, even as companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft significantly reduced theirs.

The numbers

The contrast is stark, Business Insider reported. Anthropic saw the largest year-over-year percentage jump among the seven companies reviewed; its certified applications rose from 10 in Q2 2025 to 59 in Q2 2026, a 490% increase. OpenAI went from 20 to 63, a 215% rise. NVIDIA's numbers, which dwarf both model makers in absolute terms, climbed from 641 to 765, a 19% increase.

On the other side of the ledger, Meta saw a modest 3% decline, Microsoft dropped 20%, Amazon fell 30%, and Google recorded a 64% decline as the company continued rolling out layoffs targeted at specific teams.

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Why AI companies are different

Recruiter Raghu Shivakumar of Nexocean talked about how Anthropic and OpenAI are likely to pursue foreign workers because of a "mindset of 'do whatever it takes'" when it comes to hiring. The talent pool for elite AI researchers, engineers, and infrastructure specialists is small and largely global, making the H-1B process a necessary tool regardless of the friction involved.

The broader tech industry, meanwhile, has been cutting headcount while concentrating work in smaller, specialised teams. That dynamic makes foreign-born workers with niche skills even more central to AI companies' hiring strategies, even as the visa process grows more complicated.

The fee that got blocked, and what the White House said

The process grew more complicated still when the Trump administration imposed a temporary $100,000 fee on H-1B applicants living overseas. Before a federal judge blocked it on Monday, ruling that the administration lacked the authority to impose it, Shivakumar said that the fee represented "a rounding error against the cost of not landing the right researcher" for top AI firms.

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The White House pushed back on the ruling. "President Trump has clear legal authority to restrict entry of any class of aliens he determines is not in America's best interests, and that is exactly what he did," spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said. "The H-1B program has been abused for decades, and President Trump finally took action to fix it."

A DHS spokesperson added, "We disagree with this blatant judicial activism dismantling President Trump's historic efforts for immigration reform. The Trump Administration remains committed to safeguarding opportunities for American workers and maintaining the integrity of employment-based visa programs."

Overall filings are falling

Beyond individual company trends, the broader H-1B picture is one of retreat. US Citizenship and Immigration Services received 211,600 properly submitted applications for the 2027 H-1B allocation, down from 343,981 the year before.

Justin Parsons, a partner at immigration law firm Berry Appleman & Leiden, told Business Insider that policy uncertainty was a key factor, some employers sat out this year's lottery entirely while waiting to see how new rules would play out.

The new wage-tier system, which gives higher-paid applicants a better shot in the lottery, is also reshaping who companies choose to sponsor. Economist Sneha Puri of the Indeed Hiring Lab said that companies may be less willing to back a new graduate if they believe the odds of winning a lottery slot are low.