Microsoft's layoffs of about 9,000 employees have sparked strong reactions online, with some social media users questioning the tech giant's H-1B hirings, according to media reports.
Microsoft was one of the top 20 companies as listed by the number of H-1B petitions for initial employment the U.S. approved in fiscal 2024, with 1,264 H-1Bs approved, according to CBS News.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the program, which applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability, is capped at 65,000 new visas each year, although 20,000 others can be issued for those with a master's degree or higher.
Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Newsweek that "there's nothing strange here" concerning Microsoft's use of H-1B visas.
"You have a situation where the advocacy or use of guest worker programs is entirely always disconnected from the actual behavior of businesses.
"The actual data we have never supports the idea that we are terribly short of workers in the way that the business community says," he added.
It's unclear how many H-1B visas Microsoft has applied for this year.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.