As H-1B Rules Tighten, Seattle’s Immigrant Tech Workers Weigh Leaving the U.S.

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Employers in the Seattle area have long used H-1B visas, a major foreign worker program, to hire people in academia, medicine and technology, among other fields. However, the program has also become a target of the Trump administration’s actions on immigration and the economy.

Since taking office, the administration has enacted changes that make the program more difficult and expensive to navigate for employers and workers alike, including an announcement in September of a new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas issued to people abroad.

Citing these shifts, immigrant tech workers have begun to contemplate the prospect of leaving the U.S. Many are weary of the challenges of living on H-1B status, such as travel restrictions, lack of permanence and a growing sense of vitriol against them. Others feel that economic opportunity is drying up as the local tech industry hemorrhages jobs. Some just miss home or find themselves drawn to other countries.

Immigration data does not reflect an exodus of tech workers from the U.S. At least for now, the effects are mostly borne by individuals leaving. People like Bharath M., who recently decided to move from Seattle to Bangalore, India, next year. It’ll cost him 40% off his pay, but it’ll give him peace of mind, he said.

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The H-1B program has shaped Washington’s tech industry. In the past decade alone, more than 157,000 H-1B approvals went to Washington-based employers, including Microsoft, Amazon, Expedia and the University of Washington, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data.

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For people on H-1B status, traveling abroad can be complicated because of unwieldy visa rules. To sidestep those issues, many H-1B workers choose to travel infrequently, if ever. Over time, that means missing out on important events, like weddings and funerals. For those with older parents, it means not being able to take care of them when they’re sick.

The screws have tightened further in recent months, with travel restrictions becoming stricter under the current administration.

For instance, most people with H-1B status must also have a current visa stamp that reflects their ability to reenter the U.S. To get that stamp, they have to make an appointment at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. But appointments are hard to come by in certain countries like India because of high demand. Previously, many H-1B visa holders in Washington would drive up to Canada and get the visa stamped at the U.S. consulate in Vancouver, a process known as third-country stamping. As of late last year, that’s no longer allowed.

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From the perspective of employers, recent changes to the H-1B program have made it more expensive and less attractive to use.

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For the current fiscal year, there were just under 344,000 eligible registrations for the H-1B lottery compared with 470,000 in the year prior — a 26% decrease.

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In addition to the lottery, employers have to get wage approval from the Department of Labor for each H-1B worker they hire — a process aimed at ensuring that they’re not undercutting pay for other workers.

The number of wage-approval applications submitted by employers dropped more than 23% in the first three months of the 2026 fiscal year compared with the year prior. {snip}

Last month, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that would raise the wage floors that employers must pay workers on H-1B status.

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