H-1B software job applications fall 36% in five years, AI titles account for only 1.8%
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A report released by village.dev based on data disclosed in U.S. Department of Labor LCAs shows that from fiscal years 2022 to 2026 (October to June of each year), U.S. companies' H-1B software job applications fell 36%; counting only new hires, the drop was 46%. In the same period, applications with AI titles accounted for 1.8% of all certified applications in fiscal year 2026, with short titles such as "AI engineer" contributing 92% of that year's increase. The report's author notes that job titles are filled in by employers themselves, and title changes cannot prove that AI directly caused this shift in job structure.
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- Hacker News AIUS companies are seeking fewer foreign developers, and more "AI engineers"
Department of Labor LCA data show software-developer H-1B filings fell 36% from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2026 (October–June comparisons), with new-hire filings down 46%, while filings carrying AI job titles reached 1.8% of all certified H-1B filings in fiscal 2026. AI-titled filings rose 80% for titles spelling out "machine learning" or "artificial intelligence," and shorter titles such as "AI engineer" supplied 92% of the latest year's increase, with employers outside the five largest accounting for 85% of AI-titled filings. Microsoft's software filings fell 44% and Google's 33%, while Nvidia's nearly quadrupled and Amazon's rose 34%.
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