A post on X by Nick Plumb is drawing renewed attention to the ongoing debate over layoffs in the tech industry and the continued use of the H-1B visa program by major corporations, particularly Amazon.
Plumb shared a page from a federal labor certification report alongside a sharply worded caption that read, “Amazon – who ‘eliminated’ 30k roles between their October and January layoff waves has had 33,181 H-1B positions certified in FY26.
If you can’t see what’s happening, your eyes are closed.”
The post quickly gained traction online as users debated whether large corporations should continue sponsoring foreign workers while simultaneously carrying out major workforce reductions in the United States.
The document referenced in the post contains statistical data from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s Labor Condition Application (LCA) program, which oversees H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 temporary specialty occupation visas. The report was issued by the Employment and Training Administration under the U.S. Department of Labor and includes figures updated through March 31, 2026.
According to the report, employers submitted 198,149 applications during the first half of Fiscal Year 2026, covering the period from October 2025 through March 2026. While the number remains substantial, the report notes that applications declined 14.4% compared to Fiscal Year 2025.
The first quarter, spanning October through December, recorded 76,165 applications, while the second quarter, covering January through March, saw a significantly larger 121,984 applications submitted. The report did not yet include data for the third and fourth quarters.
Federal officials processed 208,171 applications during the first half of the fiscal year. Out of those, 191,095 applications were certified, 977 were denied, and 16,099 were withdrawn.
The report also detailed the number of personnel positions connected to those applications. Employers requested a total of 478,508 positions during the first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2026, and 471,598 of those positions were ultimately certified.
California emerged as the dominant state for H-1B-certified positions with 152,916 approvals, accounting for 32.4% of the national total. Texas ranked second with 67,534 certified positions, followed by New York with 43,816 and Washington with 36,801.
READ: Amazon criticized on X for allegedly applying for 10,000 H-1B visas (May 18, 2026)
Illinois, Utah, North Carolina, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Virginia also appeared among the top states receiving certified positions, underscoring how concentrated the H-1B workforce remains in technology, finance, and corporate hubs across the country.
The occupational breakdown in the report further highlighted the heavy concentration of technology-related roles in the visa program.
Software Developers accounted for the single largest category with 151,458 certified positions, representing 32.1% of the total. Electronics Engineers followed with 48,542 positions, while Information Technology Project Managers secured 17,782 positions.
The report also listed Data Scientists, Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers, Computer and Information Systems Managers, Business Intelligence Analysts, Management Analysts, Financial and Investment Analysts, and Computer Systems Engineers and Architects among the top occupations tied to certified applications.
The employer data included in the report drew particular attention online after users noticed the scale of certifications tied to some of the country’s biggest corporations.
Qualcomm Technologies ranked as the top employer in the dataset with 59,379 certified positions, accounting for 12.6% of the total share listed in the report.
Amazon followed with 33,181 certified positions, representing 7.0% of the total. The figure became a focal point online because it appeared alongside widespread reports of layoffs across Amazon divisions over the past year.
READ: H-1B visa demand falls: Walmart, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase cut hiring (April 10, 2026)
Other major employers listed in the report included Goldman Sachs, which appeared multiple times through different corporate entities, along with Cisco, Apple, CGI Technologies and Solutions, and Nvidia.
The document explained that employers can appear more than once because different Federal Employer Identification Numbers may be linked to separate subsidiaries or operational divisions under the same parent company.
The viral post has now fueled another round of online arguments surrounding the H-1B program, a topic that has remained politically and economically divisive for years.
One of the users commented on that X post, “I’m not a big fan of the Government meddling in private businesses but this is out of control and affects the economic security of the USA, plus many of these firms host Government services and we CANNOT let foreign agents have access.” Plumb responded back, “The government is already meddling by creating a legal pathway to create an infinite labor pool.”
“Hey @amazon – I’ll be cancelling my Prime subscription. Clearly you don’t value Americans,” while the other commented. Plumb replied, “I already did – it was an easy decision.”
The post has managed to receive nearly 120,000 views.