The number of H-1B and other related work visa applications filed by US employers dropped sharply in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2026. The fiscal year 2026 began on October 1, 2025. According to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), filing of H-1B work visa applications in the quarter ending December 2025 fell 23.1% compared to the same period last year.
Between October and December 2025 — the first quarter of FY2026 — employers filed 76,164 Labour Condition Applications (LCAs) for temporary specialty occupation workers under the H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa programmes. This marks a significant decline from FY2025 figures.
However, despite a decline in applications, the approval rate remained high. Of the 83,116 applications handled during the quarter, 75,488 were certified, representing a certification percentage of more than 90%. Only 392 applications were declined, while employers withdrew 7,236. Notably, 100 percent of applications were processed on time.
The certified applications covered 163,306 positions out of 165,528 requested — meaning nearly all requested positions were approved.
California remains the top destination for H-1B workers by a wide margin. The state accounted for 53,940 certified positions — or 33% of the national total — more than double the number in any other state.
Texas came in second with 20,628 positions (12.6%), followed by Washington state at 12,759 (7.8%), New York at 11,452 (7.0%), and Illinois at 11,250 (6.9%).
Rounding out the top ten were North Carolina (5,044), New Jersey (4,814), Massachusetts (4,286), Georgia (3,546), and Michigan (3,426).
Together, the top five states — California, Texas, Washington, New York, and Illinois — accounted for nearly 68% of all certified H-1B positions in the country.
Software Developers were by far the most in-demand occupation under the H-1B visa program, accounting for 55,517 certified positions — or 34% of the total.
Electronics Engineers (Except Computer) came in second with 19,506 positions (11.9%), followed by Occupational Therapists at 9,757 (6.0%) and Physical Therapists at 6,583 (4.0%).
Other notable occupations in the top ten included IT Project Managers (5,676), Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (4,881), Computer and Information Systems Managers (4,183), Computer Systems Engineers and Architects (3,688), Data Scientists (3,418), and Business Intelligence Analysts (2,751).
The healthcare sector’s presence — with Occupational and Physical Therapists both in the top five — highlights that H-1B demand extends well beyond the tech industry.
Among employers, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. led all companies with 25,555 certified positions — accounting for 15.6% of the national total. Grandison Management, Inc. came in second with 16,120 positions (9.9%), followed by Amazon.com Services LLC with 10,616 (6.5%).
Other major employers in the top ten included CGI Technologies and Solutions (4,150), LinkedIn Corporation (3,812), Qualcomm Atheros (2,904), Amazon Web Services (2,899), Cisco Systems (2,868), NVIDIA Corporation (2,491), and Infosys Limited (2,272).
The presence of Infosys — an Indian multinational IT services company — in the top ten reflects the significant role Indian technology firms continue to play in the US H-1B ecosystem.
The 23% drop in H-1B applications in Q1 FY2026 could reflect a combination of factors, including tightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, employer caution amid policy uncertainty, and a possible cooling in tech sector hiring following layoffs across major technology companies in 2024 and 2025.
For Indian workers and companies in particular, the data underscores both the opportunity and the scrutiny that comes with the H-1B programme — especially as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement across both legal and illegal immigration pathways.