Washington issues the visas.
Workers born here are still looking.
Work visas approved by the federal government, next to U.S.-born workers without jobs, and the big employers cutting staff while they hire on visas.
Page updated Nov 6, 2026. Each section shows the period its data covers, when the source released it, and when it was last checked.
Source: BLS Employment Situation, table A-7, Oct 2026, not seasonally adjusted.
Data: Oct 2026Released: Nov 6, 2026Checked: Nov 6, 2026
Every 100 workers
Data: Oct 2026Released: Nov 6, 2026Checked: Nov 6, 2026
Share of the U.S. labor force by birthplace, October 2026. BLS table A-7.
The full count
Data: Oct 2026, Sept 2026 and 2025 averageReleased: Nov 6, Oct 2 and May 19, 2026Checked: Nov 6, 2026
Latest month from the BLS Employment Situation, table A-7 (released Nov 6, 2026). Annual 2025 from BLS Foreign-Born Workers, 2025.
| U.S.-born | Foreign-born | |
|---|---|---|
| Employed, Oct 2026 | 132.1M | 32.1M |
| Unemployed, Oct 2026 | 5.66M | 1.06M |
| Unemployment rate, Oct 2026 | 4.1% | 3.2% |
| Employed, Sept 2026 | 132.2M−965K vs. Sept '25 | 31.3M+509K vs. Sept '25 |
| Unemployed, Sept 2026 | 5.83M−161K vs. Sept '25 | 1.03M−304K vs. Sept '25 |
| Unemployment rate, Sept 2026 | 4.2%from 4.3% | 3.2%from 4.1% |
| Employed, 2025 average | 132.2M+1.7M vs. 2024 | 31.3M+0.4M vs. 2024 |
| Unemployment rate, 2025 | 4.3%up from 4.0% | 4.2%unchanged |
Read with care. October 2025 wasn't surveyed because of the federal shutdown, so October 2026 has no year-earlier comparison; September is the latest year-over-year change. In the year to September 2026, U.S.-born employment fell by 965,000 while foreign-born employment rose by 509,000. That is the latest data, but one month's survey is noisy: a month earlier, the same comparison showed both groups down. New population estimates introduced each January also shift these levels, so treat a single year-over-year change with caution. The two counts are not a job-for-job swap. “Foreign-born” means not a citizen at birth, so it includes naturalized citizens, green card holders, refugees, temporary workers and undocumented people, and the survey can't separate them. Annual 2025 figures are 11-month averages because October wasn't surveyed during the federal shutdown. The 2024 to 2025 comparison is also affected by new population estimates.
What they did, not what they said
Data: Fiscal 1997–2024Released: State Dept annual reports through fiscal 2024Checked: Nov 6, 2026
Work visas issued each year by program, with who held the White House, House and Senate. Fiscal years 1997 to 2024. Tap a bar for that year.
- Each president's yearly average was higher than the last one's, from 205,818 work visas a year under Clinton to 717,411 under Biden.
- Farm-worker visas (H-2A) ended higher than they started in all five terms, under both parties.
- The two biggest H-1B cap increases (1998 and 2000) were passed by a Republican Congress and signed by a Democratic president.
Year-by-year table and averages by president
Average work visas issued per year, by term
| President | Years | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Clinton (D) | 1997–2000 | 205,818 |
| Bush (R) | 2001–2008 | 324,157 |
| Obama (D) | 2009–2016 | 380,084 |
| Trump (R) | 2017–2020 | 548,899577,525 for 2017–2019, before COVID |
| Biden (D) | 2021–2024 | 717,411 |
Actions marked on the chart
- 1H-1B cap raised from 65,000 to 115,000 for fiscal 1999 and 2000 (P.L. 105-277), Oct 1998.President Clinton (D), Republican House and Senate
- 2Cap raised to 195,000 a year for fiscal 2001 to 2003 (AC21, P.L. 106-313), signed Oct 17, 2000.President Clinton (D), Republican House and Senate
- 3Cap falls back to 65,000 in fiscal 2004 when the temporary increase expires. Congress let it lapse.President Bush (R), Republican House and Senate
- 420,000 more H-1B slots for people with U.S. master's degrees (P.L. 108-447), Dec 2004.President Bush (R), Republican House and Senate
- 5Executive Order 13788, “Buy American and Hire American,” Apr 18, 2017, directs agencies to propose H-1B reforms.President Trump (R), Republican House and Senate
- 6Consulates halt routine visa services for COVID-19, Mar 2020. Proclamation 10052 suspends entry on H-1B, H-2B, L and some J visas, June 22, 2020.President Trump (R), Democratic House, Republican Senate
- 7After this chart's data (see the current term below): a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions, Sept 19, 2025, vacated by a federal court in June 2026 and renewed Sept 18, 2026; the Labor Department's proposed wage rule, Mar 2026; and a Sept 18, 2026 executive order telling agencies to weigh recent layoffs when reviewing H-1B filings.President Trump (R), Republican House and Senate
Read with care. These are visas issued abroad by the State Department. They leave out people who switch status inside the U.S. (most H-1B workers who studied here), extensions, and most TN workers, who are approved at the Canadian border. One person can receive more than one visa. Fiscal years run October to September, and each year shows who held office that April. 2020 and 2021 are low because consulates closed for COVID-19. Fiscal 2025 isn't in the State Department's annual report yet; see the current term below. A president's average also reflects the economy and the Congress they served with, not only their own decisions.
Sources: State Department, Report of the Visa Office, nonimmigrant visas issued by classification (1997–2001, 2002, 2003–2007, 2006–2010, 2011–2015, 2015–2019, 2020–2024). Congress control: party divisions by Congress and CRS RL34752. Cap history: CRS RL30498.
The current term so far
Data: Through June 30, 2026Released: Labor Dept fiscal 2026 Q3 statistics; USCIS Feb 11, 2026; DHS June 2, 2026Checked: Nov 6, 2026
Work-visa positions the Labor Department certified from October through June of each fiscal year. Fiscal 2026 is the first full year of President Trump's second term.
| Oct–Jun | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 positions | 648,956 | 747,899 | 830,710+11.1% |
| H-2A farm positions | 310,827 | 317,240 | 349,867+10.3% |
| H-2B seasonal positions | 192,037 | 179,570 | 206,642+15.1% |
Other measures for fiscal 2025 (Oct 2024–Sep 2025)
- H-1B petitions approved by USCIS fell 18%, from 399,402 in fiscal 2024 to 328,185 (USCIS report to Congress).
- H-2B visas issued held flat: 139,574, versus 139,541 in fiscal 2024 (DHS report to Congress).
- A $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions applied to petitions filed from Sept 21, 2025. A federal court in Massachusetts vacated the policy on June 8, 2026, and the fee isn't being collected. A Sept 18, 2026 proclamation renewed it through Sept 21, 2027, so its status depends on the appeal. Certified positions rose in fiscal 2026 either way, because certification comes before the petition.
- A Sept 18, 2026 executive order tells the State, Labor and Homeland Security departments to consider whether an employer recently laid off, or plans to lay off, similar U.S. workers when reviewing its H-1B filings (White House fact sheet). The company rows below are exactly that comparison.
Read with care. A certified position is the most an employer may fill under that filing, not a hire, and one filing can cover many positions. Fiscal 2025 includes Oct 2024 to Jan 19, 2025 under President Biden. The H-2A fiscal 2025 figure adds the quarterly counts in the year-end report. Visas issued by program for fiscal 2025 and 2026 aren't in the State Department's annual report yet.
Sources: Labor Department, Office of Foreign Labor Certification selected statistics. LCA (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3): FY2024 Q3, FY2025 Q3, FY2026 Q3. H-2A: FY2024 Q3, FY2025 Q4, FY2026 Q3. H-2B: FY2024 Q3, FY2025 Q3, FY2026 Q3.
The legal wage floor
Data: Rule in force; proposal of Mar 26, 2026, still not finalReleased: Wharton analysis Apr 8, 2026Checked: Nov 6, 2026
What the government lets a company pay on an H-1B. Sources: Dept. of Labor wage-level rules; Wharton Budget Model analysis, Apr 2026.
Where each level starts, as a percentile of the local wage for the job
What it means. At Level I, a company only has to offer the 17th percentile, so roughly 83 of every 100 people in that job and area earn more. Red marks the span below the median. The proposed rule would raise every level and would have left 20.9% of FY2024 registrations too low to enter the lottery at all.
Read with care. These are legal minimums, not what any named company pays. Entry-level jobs legitimately sit at Level I, and some visa workers are paid well above their level. The rule was proposed March 26, 2026 (Federal Register, March 27); as of Oct 21, 2026 it was still only proposed, with no final rule or date. Each company's own share of filings at Level I and II is in the Labor Department's disclosure files and will be added to the company rows.
Top H-1B employers and their layoffs
Data: Oct 2025–June 2026Released: Labor Dept fiscal 2026 Q3 statistics; layoff reports as dated in each rowChecked: Nov 6, 2026
Every company in the Labor Department's top 10 for H-1B positions certified from October 2025 to June 2026, with the layoffs each announced in the same months. The list is the government's, not ours: companies with no layoffs are shown too.
These cuts fall after the Labor Department's latest release and will be counted when it publishes figures through September. Amazon: fewer than 1,000 retail roles (Oct 7) and about 250 in devices (Oct 28), per Inc. Qualcomm: worldwide cuts starting in November, number not disclosed. Apple: about 147 Bay Area roles, August. Microsoft: about 4,800 cuts in July, and a voluntary exit offer to about 60,000 eligible employees on Oct 26 (GeekWire), not counted as layoffs.
Microsoft (see above). Google: no published layoff total; 52 cuts documented in one Washington state notice. Both join the list if they enter the top 10 in a later quarter.
How this list is built
- Which companies: the ten employers with the most H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 positions certified, as listed in the Labor Department's fiscal 2026 Q3 statistics. Goldman Sachs appears there three times, under three legal entities, and is combined here, so the ten entries make eight companies. The list will change each quarter with the government's.
- H-1B positions certified: positions on the company's labor condition applications approved October 2025 to June 2026. A certified position is the most the company may fill, not a hire, and it covers renewals and transfers as well as new workers. Staffing firms often certify many more positions than they fill.
- Laid off: cuts the company announced in the same months, company-wide, so they can include workers outside the U.S. Where a company gave no number, the row says so instead of estimating.
- Layoffs vs. H-1B: confirmed layoffs set against H-1B positions certified, shown as 1 : N, where N is positions certified per worker laid off. Ranked from the highest N. Only companies that published a single layoff count are included.
This shows two things at the same company. It doesn't show that visa workers replaced laid-off staff.
What this doesn't show
- That any visa worker replaced any laid-off worker. No public data links the two.
- Immigration status. “Foreign-born” includes citizens who were naturalized, green card holders and others, and the survey can't separate them.
- Hires. Certified positions and visas issued are steps before or around hiring, not head counts.
- Every company. Rows appear only when layoffs and visa figures cover the same months.
About this page
Fired & Filed is an independent, nonpartisan project. It puts public government data on work visas and jobs in one place, so readers can judge both parties by what they did. It is updated after each monthly jobs report and each quarterly Labor Department release.
Corrections: none yet. Any error found will be fixed and logged here with its date.