TechTarget looks at what the PERM suspensions, the $100,000 H-1B fee and the wage-weighted lottery mean for AI hiring. Loren Locke warns that top AI talent is turning to Canada, Europe and Singapore, and that most H-1B workers can no longer travel without months of planning.
From the Article
"It's a big problem if the most capable, most coveted AI talent give up on our immigration system."
"When people can't get stability and predictability for their family in the U.S., they turn toward other options in Canada, Europe, Singapore and other places."
"The biggest changes to existing H-1B workers and their employers are that there are now extremely long wait times to get an H-1B visa interview booked in India, and there was a policy change last year that visa applicants can only interview for a visa in their home country."
"Together, the effect is that most H-1B workers can't travel internationally, at least not without many months of planning."
Locke Immigration Law's Take
Loren's travel point is the one CIOs most often miss, because it does not show up in any headline. An H-1B worker who stays in the United States can keep working on an approved petition even after the visa stamp in their passport expires. The stamp only matters when they leave and need to come back. Since last year, the State Department has required visa applicants to apply in the country where they are a national or resident, so booking an appointment in a third country with shorter waits is no longer an option. Combine that with the long wait for interviews in India, and a short trip home can leave a key engineer stuck abroad for months. A worker with a valid stamp can travel and return; a worker whose stamp has expired needs a plan before they book a flight.
Her first point is about who the country keeps. The strongest AI researchers have choices, and what they weigh is not one fee or one lottery but whether they can build a stable life here. For that group the H-1B is often not the best tool anyway. The O-1 has no annual cap and no lottery, so the new wage-weighted selection, which as the article notes counts salary but not equity, does not affect it. A self-petitioned EB-1A or EB-2 National Interest Waiver needs no PERM labor certification and is not tied to one employer, so it does not depend on whether a particular company is in good standing with the Labor Department. As the article cautions, none of these is a universal substitute, and an approved green card petition does not by itself authorize work. But for the people a team cannot afford to lose, they are the routes that bring stability.
The practical step for technology leaders is the inventory the article recommends, with two dates added for each person: when their visa stamp expires, and when they next need to travel. Alongside the six-year H-1B limit and the status of any PERM or I-140, those dates show who is exposed and how soon. Screening senior AI and engineering staff for O-1, EB-1A and National Interest Waiver eligibility now, before a suspension, a court ruling or a family emergency forces the question, is far cheaper than replacing them later.
Key Takeaways
- The Labor Department's PERM suspension of Microsoft and seven other employers, the $100,000 H-1B fee (now in court) and the wage-weighted lottery are squeezing employers' access to foreign AI talent.
- Loren Locke: when top AI talent "can't get stability and predictability for their family in the U.S.," they turn to Canada, Europe and Singapore.
- Long visa interview waits in India and the rule that applicants interview in their home country mean most H-1B workers "can't travel internationally, at least not without many months of planning."
- The O-1 avoids the H-1B lottery, and the EB-1A and National Interest Waiver skip PERM entirely, making them worth screening for key AI staff now.