H-1B visa renewals in the US are on track to hit their highest-ever level this financial year, even as US President Donald Trump’s administration pushes for stricter rules around the skilled worker programme.
An analysis by workforce analytics firm LayoffHedge, based on US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, found that 273,026 petitions for “continuing employment” had already been approved during the first nine months of fiscal year 2026. The US fiscal year runs from October 2025 to September 2026.
That figure is already close to the 291,542 approvals recorded during the whole of fiscal year 2025. With three months still left, 2026 is expected to set a new record.
Tighter Rules, But Renewals Continue To Rise
The rise comes even as the Trump administration attempts to tighten parts of the H-1B system.
The government had proposed a $100,000 fee on many new H-1B applications filed for workers outside the US, but a federal judge blocked the move in June. The administration has also been working to replace the current lottery system with a wage-based selection process that would favour applicants with higher salaries.
What Do These Numbers Actually Mean?
The latest figures refer only to workers who are already in the US on H-1B visas. These petitions fall under USCIS’s “continuing employment” category, which includes visa extensions and renewals, unlike new H-1B applications selected through the annual lottery.
Unlike the 85,000 annual cap for most new H-1B visas, continuing employment petitions are not subject to any limit.
LayoffHedge said it compiled its findings using the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, along with historical approval data published by the Pew Research Center and figures referenced in a National Foundation for American Policy report, per an article by Newsweek.
Pew Research Center reported that nearly 400,000 H-1B petitions were approved in fiscal year 2024. Of these, 258,196 – roughly 65 per cent – were renewals or extensions for workers already holding H-1B status.
Experts Urge Caution While Reading The Data
Some immigration experts say the record-breaking numbers should not be mistaken for the number of individual workers.
Sahana Mukherjee, associate director of race and ethnicity research at Pew Research Center, told Newsweek that the analysis is based on approved petitions, not unique visa holders.
“Renewals refer to ‘continuing employment’ approvals”.
Mukherjee explained that this category includes workers extending their visas, changing employers or making other changes to their existing applications.
“The data focuses on petitions only, and not on individual workers,” she said.
Why There Is A Debate
The way these figures are counted has sparked discussion among policy experts.
Jiaxin He, a research assistant at the Economic Innovation Group, told Newsweek that the continuing-employment category combines several types of applications.
“Only 118,194 of those are actual renewals,” he said, referring to fiscal year 2025 data. “The remaining 173,000 petitions represent workers who changed jobs, received promotions, transferred employers, or otherwise amended their status.”
He argued that each approved petition should not be treated as a different worker.
“Treating each petition as a distinct worker produces overcounting,” he said.
Others believe the numbers still reveal how much of the H-1B programme operates outside the annual visa cap.
Kevin Lynn, founder of advocacy group US Tech Workers, said one H-1B employee can have several approved petitions over the course of their stay.
“The public hears ‘85,000,’ but the active stock of H-1B workers is several times that number,” he said.
Lynn added that continuing-employment approvals cover extensions, amendments and employer transfers, making them “continuing-employment petition events” rather than new workers entering the US job market.
At the same time, he said these figures show that a large part of the H-1B system is not restricted by the annual cap.
“These exemptions allow a significant number of H-1B workers to enter the labour market outside the annual cap, undermining the purpose of the cap and creating an uneven regulatory environment across employers,” Lynn said.
What Is The H-1B Visa?
The H-1B visa allows US companies to hire foreign professionals for specialised jobs that generally require at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience. While the programme is heavily used by technology companies, it also supports recruitment in sectors such as healthcare, engineering, finance and scientific research.
If the current trend continues, fiscal year 2026 will surpass last year’s total and become the biggest year ever for H-1B renewals, even as legal challenges and policy changes continue to reshape the programme.
