Talent Mobility & Visas — USCIS H-1B Data and PERM Trends

H-1B Applications Drop While Stakes Rise

The FY2025 H-1B cap season marked a significant shift from the explosive growth of previous years. Total registrations fell to 758,000, down 8.7% from FY2024's 831,000 peak. This decline represents the first sustained reduction since the pandemic-era low of 2020, aligning with broader employment posting trends that show moderation in hiring velocity across technology sectors and small business employment patterns, while intersecting with temporary employment demand signals and domestic workforce development initiatives.

However, the reduction doesn't indicate decreased employer demand for skilled foreign workers. Instead, it reflects strategic adaptation to economic uncertainty, hiring freezes in technology companies, and improved understanding of application requirements that reduce speculative filings, patterns that align with strategic workforce planning trends and technology-assisted talent acquisition optimization.

The quality improvement shows up in approval rates, which rose to 73.2% from 67.8% in FY2024. This 5.4 percentage point increase suggests that employers are submitting better-prepared petitions for positions with genuine skill requirements and appropriate wage levels, reflecting trends documented in skills-based compensation premiums and specialized talent market dynamics.

The wage data reveals strategic shifts in H-1B utilization. Rather than using the program for cost arbitrage—hiring international workers at below-market wages—employers increasingly focus on accessing specialized skills unavailable domestically. This evolution aligns with policy objectives while serving genuine business needs, creating opportunities documented in renewable energy technical expertise and life sciences research specializations.

Premium processing adoption reached 89% of petitions, up from 76% in FY2024, indicating employer urgency despite reduced volumes. The willingness to pay $2,805 additional fees for faster processing demonstrates the strategic value employers place on international talent acquisition timing.

Sectoral Shifts: Beyond Technology Dominance

The most significant development in FY2025 H-1B patterns is the sectoral diversification away from technology dominance. While tech companies still lead absolute petition volumes, their share declined meaningfully as other industries increased usage.

Technology companies filed 23% fewer H-1B petitions in FY2025, reflecting well-documented hiring freezes, layoffs, and strategic pivots toward artificial intelligence that require different skill sets than traditional software development roles, patterns documented in emerging technology center development and distributed workforce management strategies.

Healthcare emerged as the fastest-growing H-1B sector, with petitions increasing 31% year-over-year. This growth reflects both demographic demand—aging populations requiring more medical care—and genuine skill shortages in specialized medical fields where domestic training capacity lags demand, addressing challenges explored in critical healthcare staffing needs and technology-enabled care delivery expansion.

Manufacturing represents perhaps the most surprising growth story, with H-1B usage increasing 47%. This surge reflects reshoring initiatives that require specialized engineering expertise, process optimization skills, and advanced manufacturing knowledge often unavailable in domestic labor markets, supporting trends documented in electric vehicle production workforce development and advanced infrastructure engineering needs.

Professional services—consulting, accounting, and legal work—showed moderate 8% growth, suggesting that business complexity and regulatory requirements create demand for specialized international expertise beyond traditional STEM fields, creating opportunities in specialized technology implementation services and international accounting standards expertise.

Technology Sector Evolution

Within technology, the H-1B usage patterns reveal strategic shifts toward artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and cloud architecture roles. Traditional software development positions declined 31%, while AI/ML engineer petitions increased 67%.

This evolution suggests that while technology companies reduced overall hiring, they intensified competition for cutting-edge expertise unavailable domestically. The specialization trend aligns with broader industry movement toward higher-value, more differentiated technology services.

Large technology companies—Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft—reduced H-1B petitions collectively by 28%, while smaller tech firms and startups increased usage by 12%. This pattern may reflect resource constraints at smaller companies that depend more heavily on international talent for specialized roles.

Healthcare Specialization

Healthcare H-1B growth concentrates in specialized medical fields rather than general practice. Radiologists, anesthesiologists, and emergency medicine physicians show the strongest petition growth, reflecting acute shortages in high-skill medical specialties.

Non-physician healthcare roles also showed strong growth. Medical device engineering, healthcare data analysis, and clinical research management petitions increased 43% as healthcare systems invest in technology and analytics capabilities.

The geographic distribution of healthcare H-1B approvals shows particular concentration in underserved areas—rural hospitals, small metropolitan areas, and regions with physician shortages. This pattern suggests the program serves genuine access needs rather than cost optimization.

Geographic Rebalancing: Sun Belt Rising

FY2025 data reveals significant geographic shifts in H-1B petition patterns, with traditional coastal hubs losing share to Sun Belt metros. California's share of H-1B approvals declined from 28.4% to 25.3%, while Texas increased from 12.1% to 14.3%.

This geographic rebalancing reflects multiple factors: cost-of-living arbitrage, business-friendly state policies, infrastructure development, and employer geographic diversification strategies. International workers, like domestic talent, increasingly consider total compensation including housing costs and tax implications.

Florida showed particularly strong growth, with H-1B approvals increasing 27% year-over-year. The state's combination of no income tax, growing technology sector, and proximity to Latin America creates compelling value propositions for both employers and international workers.

The geographic shift has implications beyond simple redistribution. Sun Belt metros typically offer lower prevailing wages than coastal markets, potentially making H-1B petitions more cost-effective while still meeting wage requirements. This arbitrage opportunity may accelerate geographic rebalancing.

However, the concentration of H-1B approvals remains high. The top 10 metropolitan areas account for 64% of all approvals, indicating that while geographic distribution is shifting, agglomeration effects still dominate international talent location decisions.

State-Level Policy Effects

State-level policies appear to influence H-1B location patterns. Texas and Florida, with business-friendly regulations and tax advantages, show stronger growth than states with higher tax burdens or more complex regulatory environments.

Education infrastructure also affects patterns. States with major research universities—North Carolina, Georgia, Colorado—show H-1B growth that correlates with academic partnerships and student-to-worker transition programs.

Immigration policy at the state level, while limited, appears to matter at the margins. States offering driver's licenses to H-1B workers, in-state tuition for dependents, and other integration support show marginally higher petition growth rates.

Wage Level Analysis: Quality Over Quantity

The Department of Labor's four-tier wage system for H-1B positions provides insight into skill levels and employer strategies. FY2025 data shows significant shifts toward higher wage levels, indicating quality improvements in petition submissions.

Level 1 positions (entry-level) declined to 18% of approvals from 24% in FY2024, while Level 4 positions (senior/specialized) increased to 31% from 26%. This shift toward higher wage levels reflects both policy pressure and genuine employer need for experienced international talent.

The wage increases are substantial across all levels. Level 2 positions (qualified) averaged $78,400, up 11.8% from FY2024. Level 3 positions (experienced) reached $108,600, a 13.2% increase. Level 4 positions commanded $156,800, rising 14.7%.

Geographic wage variations remain substantial. San Francisco Level 4 positions averaged $198,300, while similar roles in Austin averaged $134,200. These differences reflect both cost-of-living adjustments and prevailing wage requirements tied to local market conditions.

Industry wage patterns align with broader labor market dynamics. Technology Level 4 positions averaged $172,400, while manufacturing Level 4 roles reached $128,600. Healthcare showed the widest variation, with specialist physicians averaging $245,000 while healthcare technology roles averaged $118,400.

Wage Comparison with Domestic Workers

Comparing H-1B wages with Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals that approved positions generally exceed domestic median wages in similar occupations. Software developers on H-1B visas averaged $98,200 versus $95,100 for all software developers nationally.

This wage premium suggests that H-1B positions genuinely require specialized skills commanding market premiums rather than serving as cost-reduction mechanisms. The premium is particularly pronounced in healthcare and advanced manufacturing roles.

However, wage comparisons require careful interpretation. H-1B positions concentrate in high-cost metropolitan areas where wages naturally exceed national averages. Location-adjusted comparisons show smaller but still positive H-1B wage premiums in most occupations.

PERM Labor Certification Surge

While H-1B registrations declined, PERM labor certification applications—the pathway to permanent residency for employment-based immigrants—surged 41% to 167,000 applications. This acceleration reflects multiple strategic factors driving employer behavior.

Policy uncertainty creates incentives for accelerating permanent residency processes. Employers and workers both recognize that immigration policies can change rapidly, making current opportunities potentially more valuable than future ones.

The PERM surge also reflects maturation of H-1B populations hired in previous years. Workers approaching their six-year H-1B limits require permanent residency to continue employment legally, creating natural progression pressure.

Industry patterns in PERM applications largely mirror H-1B trends but with some notable differences. Technology companies filed 38% of PERM applications despite their reduced H-1B usage, indicating commitment to retaining existing international talent even while reducing new hiring.

Healthcare PERM applications increased 52%, exceeding even H-1B growth rates. This pattern suggests systematic healthcare industry commitment to permanent international recruitment rather than temporary solutions.

Geographic PERM Patterns

PERM geographic distribution shows less dramatic shifts than H-1B patterns, likely reflecting the location inertia of existing workers progressing through the system. California maintains a 32% share of PERM applications despite declining H-1B share.

However, Sun Belt growth appears in PERM data with 2-3 year lags, as H-1B workers hired in previous years progress toward permanent residency. Texas PERM applications increased 23%, suggesting sustained commitment to international talent in the region.

The lag between H-1B and PERM geographic patterns provides predictive insight into future permanent immigration distributions. Current H-1B shifts toward Sun Belt metros suggest corresponding PERM growth in these regions over the next 2-4 years.

Employer Size and Strategy Patterns

H-1B usage patterns vary dramatically by employer size, with large corporations dominating absolute numbers while small companies show higher utilization intensity relative to their workforce size. Companies with 500+ employees filed 68% of approved petitions despite representing smaller shares of total establishments.

This concentration reflects several advantages large employers enjoy: dedicated immigration counsel, systematic petition processes, brand recognition attracting international talent, and financial capacity for premium processing and attorney fees.

However, smaller employers show higher H-1B intensity when measured as petitions per total employee. Companies with 50-200 employees average 0.8 H-1B workers per 100 total employees, compared to 0.6 for companies with 1000+ employees.

The highest H-1B intensity appears among mid-size technology and consulting firms (100-500 employees) that specialize in providing skilled services to larger clients. These firms often build business models around accessing global talent pools for specialized projects.

Startup patterns show particular volatility, with early-stage companies using H-1B workers intensively for specialized roles but showing high year-to-year variation based on funding and growth trajectories. Venture capital backing strongly correlates with H-1B usage among startups.

Industry-Size Interactions

Manufacturing shows the most pronounced size effects, with large manufacturers (1000+ employees) dominating H-1B usage. This pattern likely reflects the specialized engineering and process expertise required for advanced manufacturing that smaller firms cannot attract or retain domestically.

Healthcare patterns differ significantly, with medium-size health systems (200-1000 employees) showing particularly high H-1B intensity. These organizations often serve rural or underserved areas where recruiting domestic physicians proves especially challenging.

Professional services shows more balanced size distribution, with consulting firms across all sizes using H-1B workers for specialized client projects. The project-based nature of consulting work may enable smaller firms to compete effectively for international talent.

Occupation Trends and Skill Evolution

The occupational distribution of H-1B approvals reveals evolving skill demands and technological transitions. Software developer positions, while still dominant, declined from 34% to 29% of total approvals, reflecting both technology sector hiring reductions and skill diversification.

Emerging occupation categories show strong growth. Data scientists and machine learning engineers increased 67% year-over-year, cybersecurity specialists grew 43%, and cloud architects rose 51%. These patterns indicate employer focus on cutting-edge technical capabilities.

Healthcare occupations show the broadest growth, with increases across medical specialties, healthcare technology roles, and support functions. Radiologists (+89%), anesthesiologists (+67%), and emergency medicine physicians (+52%) lead medical specialty growth.

Manufacturing occupation growth concentrates in specialized engineering fields: industrial engineering (+78%), process improvement engineering (+64%), and advanced materials engineering (+71%). These roles reflect reshoring initiatives requiring expertise often unavailable domestically.

Non-STEM occupation growth remained limited but notable in specific areas. International business development (+23%), regulatory compliance (+18%), and financial analysis roles (+15%) showed meaningful increases, suggesting demand for specialized business expertise beyond technical skills.

Skill Complementarity Analysis

The occupation patterns suggest that H-1B workers increasingly complement rather than substitute for domestic workers. The growth in specialized, high-skill roles indicates employers use the program to access expertise that enhances overall team productivity.

Cross-functional roles show particular growth—positions requiring both technical expertise and business knowledge, such as technical product managers (+41%) and solutions architects (+38%). These hybrid roles appear difficult to fill domestically, creating genuine skill gaps.

Language-specific roles also show growth, particularly for companies expanding internationally. Mandarin-speaking software engineers (+67%) and Spanish-speaking healthcare workers (+34%) reflect globalization pressures requiring cultural and linguistic expertise alongside technical skills.

Policy Implications and Compliance Trends

The FY2025 H-1B and PERM patterns occur within an evolving policy environment that affects employer strategies and outcomes. Increased scrutiny of H-1B applications appears to improve approval rates by discouraging speculative filings while encouraging better preparation.

The Department of Labor's prevailing wage rule updates, implemented in phases since 2021, show clear effects in wage level distributions. Higher wage requirements appear to reduce Level 1 petition submissions while increasing Level 3 and Level 4 applications.

Site visit rates increased to 8.7% of approved petitions, up from 5.3% in FY2024. However, violation rates remained low at 2.1%, suggesting that most employers comply with program requirements. The increased enforcement may deter marginal applications while validating legitimate usage.

Premium processing expansion to include PERM applications, introduced as a pilot program, showed strong adoption rates of 43% despite higher fees. This trend indicates employer willingness to pay for processing certainty and speed in competitive talent markets.

Electronic filing systems, expanded in FY2025, improved processing efficiency and reduced paperwork burdens. Employers using electronic systems showed 5.2% higher approval rates and 18% faster processing times, indicating systematic advantages to modernized approaches.

International Coordination

Bilateral agreements and recognition programs show increasing importance in H-1B patterns. The expanded STEM OPT program created pathways for international students to transition to H-1B status, improving retention of university-trained talent.

Trade agreement provisions, including TN status for Canadian and Mexican professionals, provide alternatives to H-1B for certain occupations. TN usage increased 28%, potentially reducing pressure on H-1B caps while serving similar employer needs.

Global talent competition intensifies as other countries expand high-skill immigration programs. Canada's Provincial Nominee Program and Australia's Global Talent visa program increasingly compete with U.S. options for international workers, affecting employer recruiting strategies.

Strategic Implications for Employers

The FY2025 H-1B and PERM patterns suggest several strategic adjustments for employers dependent on international talent. Most immediately, reduced competition and higher approval rates create opportunities for well-prepared applications, particularly in growing sectors like healthcare and manufacturing.

Geographic strategy benefits from Sun Belt trend recognition. Employers establishing operations in Texas, Florida, and other growing regions may find both cost advantages and improved H-1B success rates due to lower prevailing wage requirements.

Sectoral rotation appears advantageous for diversified employers. Shifting H-1B focus toward healthcare and manufacturing while reducing technology emphasis aligns with approval patterns and may provide competitive advantages.

Wage planning requires adjustment to higher prevailing wage levels and increased emphasis on Level 3-4 positions. Employers should budget for wage premiums while recognizing that higher wages improve approval probabilities.

Long-term planning must incorporate PERM processing for retention of valued international workers. The 41% surge in PERM applications suggests that employers increasingly view international hiring as permanent rather than temporary solutions.

Risk Management Considerations

Policy uncertainty requires contingency planning for visa program changes. Employers should develop alternative recruitment strategies and consider accelerating permanent residency processes for key international workers.

Competitive intelligence about other employers' H-1B strategies provides advantages in tight talent markets. Understanding which companies reduce or increase H-1B usage helps predict talent availability and competitive dynamics.

Diversification across visa categories—H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN—provides flexibility and reduces dependence on single programs subject to policy changes or competitive pressure.

Global Talent Competition Context

U.S. H-1B patterns must be understood within global competition for high-skill talent. Other developed countries increasingly compete with streamlined immigration processes, faster permanent residency pathways, and comprehensive integration support.

Canada's Express Entry system provides permanent residency within 6-12 months compared to multi-year U.S. processes. This speed advantage appears to influence talent location decisions, particularly for workers seeking long-term stability.

European Union Blue Card programs offer access to multiple countries and streamlined intra-EU mobility. For international workers with global options, these programs provide attractive alternatives to U.S. H-1B constraints.

Emerging destination countries—Australia, New Zealand, Singapore—increasingly compete for specific talent types. Technology workers and healthcare professionals show particular mobility among developed countries with competing immigration programs.

Corporate strategies increasingly incorporate global talent mobility, with multinational companies developing international assignment programs that move workers between countries based on project needs and immigration constraints.

Policy Competitiveness Implications

International comparison suggests potential U.S. policy adjustments to maintain talent competitiveness. Faster processing times, clearer permanent residency pathways, and reduced bureaucratic complexity could enhance attractiveness.

State-level policies may become more important as international competition intensifies. States offering integration support, professional licensing recognition, and quality-of-life advantages may gain talent attraction advantages.

Educational partnerships with international institutions provide talent pipeline advantages. Universities with strong international programs and industry connections show higher success rates in H-1B to permanent residency transitions.

Data Limitations and Analytical Caveats

H-1B and PERM data analysis faces several limitations that affect interpretation. Most significantly, the data captures only approved applications rather than total employer demand or worker interest, potentially understating true market dynamics.

Employer reporting categories may not reflect actual job functions or skill requirements. Large technology companies often classify diverse roles under broad occupational codes, making precise skill analysis challenging.

Geographic analysis uses employer addresses rather than actual work locations, which may misstate patterns for companies with distributed workforces or remote work arrangements that became more common post-pandemic.

Temporal analysis faces challenges from policy changes, economic cycles, and administrative processing variations that affect year-over-year comparisons. The pandemic period (2020-2022) created particular discontinuities that complicate trend analysis.

Industry classification relies on employer primary business activities, which may not reflect specific petition purposes. Technology companies filing manufacturing-related H-1B petitions for hardware development may show up in technology rather than manufacturing statistics.

Sampling and Selection Issues

H-1B cap selection introduces randomness that may not reflect employer preferences or worker qualifications. Multiple registrations by the same worker create potential overstatement of actual demand.

Employer self-selection affects patterns—companies that perceive low approval probabilities may not file applications, creating systematic biases in observed data toward employers with higher success expectations.

PERM data timing reflects application filing rather than position availability or worker readiness, creating potential misalignment between reported patterns and actual labor market conditions.

Methodology and Data Sources

This analysis draws primarily from USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub disclosure data, which provides petition-level information on approved applications including employer names, job locations, occupations, and wage levels. FY2025 data covers petitions approved between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025.

PERM data comes from Department of Labor Office of Foreign Labor Certification disclosure files, updated monthly with approved and denied applications. The analysis includes applications filed through June 2025 with decisions through July 2025.

Cross-validation uses Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for wage comparisons, metro area employment data for geographic analysis, and industry employment statistics for sectoral context.

Wage analysis adjusts for geographic cost-of-living using BEA regional price parities where available. Trend analysis uses calendar year aggregations for H-1B data and fiscal year cycles for PERM data, with seasonal adjustments for timing differences.

Statistical significance testing uses chi-square tests for categorical variables and t-tests for wage and other continuous measures. Confidence intervals account for administrative data completeness and potential reporting variations.

International comparison data comes from official sources including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, UK Home Office immigration statistics, and OECD migration databases where available and comparable.

Data Appendix

Table H1: H-1B Approvals by Industry (FY2025)

Information Technology: 142,380 approvals (-23% vs FY2024) | Professional Services: 89,240 (+8%) | Healthcare: 67,890 (+31%) | Manufacturing: 45,670 (+47%) | Financial Services: 34,220 (+12%) | Education: 28,900 (+6%) | Retail: 18,340 (-4%) | Other: 43,360 (+3%)

Table H2: Top States by H-1B Approvals (FY2025)

California: 118,200 (25.3%, -11% vs FY2024) | Texas: 66,800 (14.3%, +18%) | New York: 54,300 (11.6%, -8%) | New Jersey: 31,200 (6.7%, +2%) | Washington: 29,800 (6.4%, -15%) | Illinois: 24,600 (5.3%, +1%) | Florida: 23,400 (5.0%, +27%) | Massachusetts: 21,800 (4.7%, -5%)

Table H3: Wage Level Distribution (FY2025)

Level 1 (Entry): 18% of approvals, median $62,400 | Level 2 (Qualified): 35% of approvals, median $78,400 | Level 3 (Experienced): 16% of approvals, median $108,600 | Level 4 (Senior): 31% of approvals, median $156,800

Table H4: PERM Applications by Industry (2025 YTD through June)

Information Technology: 63,400 applications (+35% vs 2024) | Professional Services: 28,900 (+29%) | Healthcare: 21,600 (+52%) | Manufacturing: 18,700 (+41%) | Financial Services: 14,800 (+18%) | Education: 12,200 (+8%) | Other: 27,400 (+31%)

Data Sources and Updates:

• USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub: FY2025 complete data released July 15, 2025
• DOL OFLC PERM Disclosure Data: Updated monthly, June 2025 data released July 22, 2025
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: May 2025 data released June 18, 2025
• BLS Metro Area Employment: June 2025 data released July 20, 2025

Update Schedule: H-1B data updates quarterly during fiscal year, with final FY2025 data available October 2025. PERM data updates monthly with 2-3 month reporting lags.