H-1B Visa 2024: Amazon Tops List of US Companies Hiring Foreign Workers:

The H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire up to 85,000 skilled foreign workers annually, continues to draw interest across the tech sector. A recent Business Insider report reveals that Amazon filed the highest number of certified H-1B visa petitions in 2024, outpacing its tech rivals.

Top H-1B Visa Filers Among US Companies

According to the report:

Amazon led with 14,783 certified H-1B filings, including 23 filed for its subsidiary Whole Foods. The company’s global workforce reached 1.56 million by year-end 2024.

Microsoft followed with 5,695 certified filings, of which 970 were from LinkedIn, employing 228,000 people globally.

Alphabet (Google’s parent company) filed 5,537 H-1B petitions, with 115 from its subsidiaries Waymo and Verily. Alphabet's workforce totaled 183,323 by the end of the year.

Meta (formerly Facebook) registered 4,844 certified filings, and Apple stood fifth with 3,880.

Other Major Tech Employers Using H-1B Visas

Additional key companies included:

IBM: 2,907 certified filings
Intel: 2,558 filings
Oracle: 2,141 filings
Tesla: 1,677 filings
TikTok's parent company: 1,611 filings

Elon Musk Calls for H-1B Reform

Despite Tesla's presence on the list, its CEO Elon Musk has publicly criticized the H-1B visa program. In a December 2024 post on X, Musk called the program “broken” and in need of major reform. He has expressed concerns over its current implementation and long-term impact on the U.S. job market.

H-1B Program Still a Key Pipeline for Tech Talent

While criticism persists, the H-1B visa remains essential for tech companies to recruit global talent, especially in fields like software engineering, AI, and data science. The 2024 filing trends reaffirm the continued dependence of major U.S. firms on international skilled workers.