Microsoft is drawing increasing criticism over its handling of H-1B visa applications, as new reports highlight a growing disconnect between the company’s foreign hiring practices and recent mass layoffs in the United States. According to labor filings and social media discussions, Microsoft has submitted over 6,300 H-1B visa requests for software engineering roles in Washington state—the same location where the company recently laid off 2,300 employees, including 817 software engineers, as reported by WorldNetDaily.
Public frustration intensified following a viral post by user @kate_p45 on X (formerly Twitter), who stated:
“We need @SecRubio to deny visas to Microsoft. It’s absolutely pitiful that they just laid off 2,300 workers and now are applying for over 6,000 H-1B visas!”
This controversy comes as Microsoft confirmed a new round of 9,000 global job cuts, impacting several divisions, including its gaming unit. While the layoffs affect less than 4% of its global workforce, they coincide with the company’s increasing offshore investments—such as a $3 billion investment in India and plans to train 10 million people in AI skills across the country.
Critics argue that the company’s visa applications and outsourcing strategy reflect broader abuse of the H-1B visa program, which is intended to address genuine skill shortages. One user on X commented:
“Why did Microsoft lay off 9,000 employees but request 14,181 H-1B visas? Because they wanted to ‘reboot’ their workforce with a global upgrade!”
Another wrote:
“This is happening across many companies. The system is being abused.”
According to WorldNetDaily, Microsoft has filed 14,181 foreign labor requests so far this year, 82% of which were for wages below the local market average. Many of these filings were reportedly funneled through Indian outsourcing firm Integreon (India) Pvt Ltd, raising additional concerns over the company’s labor practices.
