Dive Brief:
- The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking details from 10 major U.S. companies, including tech giants Amazon, Apple and Meta, regarding their recruitment and hiring practices related to H-1B visa holders.
- Over the past few years, the companies have leaned heavily on H-1B visa petitions to fill tech-related positions, favoring foreigners over American workers, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the committee’s chairman and ranking member, respectively, said in a recent press release announcing the probe.
- “We are concerned about some troubling employment trends in the tech industry,” the lawmakers said in letters to the firms. The list of companies under scrutiny also includes Google, Microsoft, Walmart, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Cognizant Technology Solutions and Tata Consultancy Services.
Dive Insight:
The Senate investigation comes amid a growing debate over the impact of H-1B visa hiring on U.S. workers, particularly in the tech industry.
It also comes at a time when the unemployment level in America’s tech sector is “well above” the overall jobless rate, according to the press release.
On Sept. 19, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, citing “systemic abuse” of the program.
“The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor,” the order states.
The abrupt and dramatic change sowed confusion among employers as it quickly went into effect at midnight on Sept. 21, according to an article published by law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.
“Much is still unclear and litigation is expected,” the article said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has called on the administration to withdraw the new fee, saying it could “impede economic growth,” as previously reported by CFO Dive.
In fiscal 2025, Amazon applied for and received approval to hire at least 10,044 H-1B employees, the highest number of any U.S. company, Grassley and Durbin said in their letter to the tech giant, noting the company has laid off tens of thousands of employees in recent years.
“With all the homegrown American talent relegated to the sidelines, we find it hard to believe that Amazon cannot find qualified American tech workers to fill these positions,” the lawmakers wrote.
Similar concerns were raised in the other letters.
Among other questions, Amazon and the other nine companies were asked to “explain in detail” whether they make a good faith effort to fill open positions with Americans before filing H-1B petitions. They were also asked whether they have displaced any American employees with H-1B holders.
Spokespersons for Microsoft and Cognizant declined to comment.
Spokespersons for Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Google, Meta, Walmart, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte and Tata Consultancy didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
