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By Billal Rahman and Dan Gooding
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Each year, tens of thousands of foreign professionals come to the U.S. through the H-1B visa program, filling critical roles in technology, engineering and business. Data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows which states are home to the largest share of these skilled workers.
Drawing on data from USCIS, Newsweek created a map to show states with the highest number of H-1B visa recipients
Experts told Newsweek that the data is misleading, noting that the numbers include new and renewed visas, and that individuals can have multiple renewals within a single year, inflating the total.
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Why It Matters
Each year, the H1B program allows U.S. employers to hire tens of thousands of foreign professionals for specialty occupations, with many working in the technology sector. The program is capped at 85,000 visas annually and covers fields such as engineering, computer science and business-related specialties.
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What To Know
States with large technology and health care sectors, such as California, Texas and New York, have seen higher numbers of H-1B visa approvals. These states host numerous employers who frequently use the H-1B program to meet their specialized labor needs. Analyzing the distribution of H-1B visa approvals by state is crucial for understanding regional labor market dynamics and the reliance on foreign skilled labor.
California leads the nation with 61,814 approvals, followed by Texas with more than 27,000, New York (22,526), Virginia (21,828) and New Jersey (21,880). These states are home to major technology, health care and finance hubs, where demand for specialized foreign talent is highest. Large corporations drive much of this concentration, highlighting regional reliance on skilled international workers.
Many work for tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft and Google, which actively invest in retaining foreign-born talent.
At the other end of the spectrum, several states and territories recorded fewer than 200 approvals. Montana (100), Wyoming (83), Alaska (176) and Vermont (179) are among the lowest numbers, reflecting smaller labor markets, limited presence of specialty industries, or fewer employers sponsoring H-1B visas. These figures illustrate the stark regional differences in visa distribution across the U.S. between larger cities and rural areas.
The H1B program has grown drastically over the past few decades. In 2024, roughly 400,000 visas were approved, more than double the number issued in 2000. Most approvals were renewals rather than first-time applications.
H-1B petitions filed by universities, their connected non-profit organizations, non-profit research institutions, and government research entities are typically handled differently under the law and are exempt from the 85,000-person cap.
Meanwhile, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has finished reviewing a Department of Homeland Security proposal that would revise the allocation process for H1B visas, according to Bloomberg Law.
What People Are Saying
Jeff Lande, president of the Lande Group, told Newsweek: "The number of new H-1B visas that can be issued in any given year is fixed by law. Under the cap, 65,000 + an additional 20,000 for recipients of a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education may be granted in a given fiscal year (October 1-September 30). The president cannot unilaterally change this. Any change to the cap number would require an act of Congress.
"The numbers can be quite misleading if you are unfamiliar with the data. The Hub actually reports both new and renewed/extended visas, so the numbers are exponentially higher than for just new visas. (Also, as the visa is granted for the period of time that the sponsor said the person will be on a job, individuals can have multiple renewals in a given year.) Further, the data hub is CY, whereas the visas are issued by FY and given how long it can take to get a final decision, visa awards can be recorded for a different year than when the petition was submitted.
"The changes and new restrictions that the Trump administration is expected to propose to the H-1B program in the near future would be done by regulation, not legislation or statute. Of course, depending on what Trump proposes, there may be legal challenges brought by industry."
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