Oracle Files H-1B Visa Petitions Amid Mass Layoffs
by kklisura on 4/3/2026, 8:21:23 PM
Comments
by: rdtsc
Wherever their major offices are look for newspapers in the small towns nearby advertising for "Software developers for Oracle" all written in the tiniest print, right next to classified that sell used bikes, car parts and other stuff.<p>- "Well, Uncle Sam, we looked so hard in US and nobody answered our job posts, we have to go to ... $othercountry to hire, there is no other way"
4/3/2026, 8:51:21 PM
by: MrWiffles
What I’m not clear on - how many of these H1B hires are subject to the EO that jacked up the fee to $100k per person? Assuming even just 100 of them were, that’s still ten million USD (assuming I didn’t visualize the zeroes in my head wrong…), and a really large fee to justify to the board if you’re otherwise paying “roughly the same” in salary. Productivity is going to basically break even anyway after a few years.<p>This is why I’m wondering: did the EO get blocked, paused for judicial review or something? Is it even in effect?<p>No intention to make this political, I’m legitimately curious about the status of the law and its actual applicability here. Supposed to be such a steep fine they literally couldn’t afford to do this - not with them already going cash flow negative to build out AI datacenters. So either it’s not applying (why?) or somehow they’re justifying one HUGE fee and somebody is floating them one astronomical loan - which again, why? Where’s the profit in taking that big a risk? Seems absolutely unhinged!<p>We’re missing something here. Or, at least, I am.
4/3/2026, 10:30:19 PM
by: QGQBGdeZREunxLe
It's always puzzled me that layoffs don't result in a temporary bar from using the H1B system like it does for filing PERMs with the DoL.
4/3/2026, 9:23:17 PM
by: thumbsup-_-
Most of these would just be visa renewals. Though it wouldn’t be click bait enough to mention in article title
4/3/2026, 10:58:19 PM
by: reenorap
The title is extremely deceitful. They filed H1Bs for 2025 and 2026, but not after or during the layoffs from last week.<p>That’s like saying “Oracle hires tens of thousands and mass layoffs” (* hired during the pandemic)
4/3/2026, 9:44:18 PM
by: BeetleB
To all the folks here complaining that there is plenty of talent in the US to fill those roles:<p>Honestly tell me: Would <i>you</i> ever apply to Oracle for a job?
4/3/2026, 10:45:07 PM
by: hackthemack
I find the topic of the morality or effectiveness of having a H-1B a little bit intractable to reason about rationally. Consider a simplified model of the system.<p>You have 2 countries, C1 and C2.<p>Scenario 1: C1 has enough demand for 100 tech jobs. C1 only has 50 qualified natives for 100 tech jobs.<p>The wages of C1 go up because there is more demand than supply.<p>Scenario 2: C1 has enough demand for 100 tech jobs. C1 only has 50 qualified natives for 100 tech jobs.<p>Now you put in a H1-B visa program that will pay the same as the prevalent wage as a local native. C2 has enough candidates to fill the other 50 positions.<p>The wages of C1 will NOT go up because now supply matches demand.<p>Is Scenario 2 fair? Who gets to decide what fair is? Given the above system, I think I would argue that H1-B visa programs cause wage deflation in C1, even if it is filling jobs that would not be filled and even if the jobs paid the exact same as someone working in the native country.<p>I am not dogmatic about that though. Willing to hear a counterpoint to scenario 2.
4/3/2026, 10:29:23 PM
by: smetannik
Did oracle manage to circumvent 100k payment per H1B applicant?<p>Also, why they need to do H1B instead of just outsourcing abroad?
4/3/2026, 10:30:03 PM
by: moshegramovsky
I don't understand why American workers would support this program at this scale. Furthermore, I believe universities and other similar researchy/affiliated non-profits are exempt from the hiring caps.<p>I just cannot imagine executives at tech companies/body shops having any positive ethical motivations. More like "they'll do what we say without complaining or they'll go home". There's no way it's not just a hugely abusive to both pools of workers. The whole thing really feels like another example of the imbalance between labor and capital in the US.<p>Who originally wanted H-1B/etc? Rich people with money and power? Of course!
4/3/2026, 9:05:45 PM
by: lateforwork
Keep in mind that employers have to pay $100,000 in visa fees (in addition to competitive salaries) for each H-1B visa. Clearly these immigrants are not undercutting US workers. It is $100K cheaper to hire a US worker.
4/3/2026, 10:06:38 PM
by: kstrauser
No. Abso-f'ing-lutely not, no way, no how. You cannot force me to believe that the talent they're looking for isn't available here already.
4/3/2026, 9:10:33 PM
by: mikert89
Where did my standard of living go? Couldnt possibly have to do with imported labor working around the clock under the threat of being kicked out of the country
4/3/2026, 8:59:59 PM
by: emodendroket
All of these companies are hiring constantly even as they do layoffs so this is an easy story to write every time there are layoffs.
4/3/2026, 10:30:43 PM
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4/3/2026, 10:13:27 PM
by: pm90
Oracle is a large company. Many of those laid off were outside the US. This is a non-story.
4/3/2026, 8:45:11 PM
by: cmiles8
I would expect further H1B crackdowns coming. The $100k fee was just the start.
4/3/2026, 8:48:55 PM
by: simianwords
This whole H1B debacle tells me that people don't like it when employees are not fungible but this sentiment only exists selectively.<p>The H1B i140 petition thing requires you to advertise the job before submitting the petition. How does this work if the employee is not fungible?
4/3/2026, 8:54:33 PM
by: jinglebell2025
America has an H1b invasion problem
4/3/2026, 10:25:33 PM
by: fooker
This article is deliberately written in a way to aggravate people who do not understand how the visa process works.
4/3/2026, 10:46:42 PM
by: slau
I hate Oracle as much as the next guy, but this seems like a nothingburger.<p>Oracle didn’t file “thousands of H1Bs”. Oracle filed 2690 applications in FY2025 (Oct-Sep), and so far filed 436 in FY2026, according to the article.<p>If anything, this would indicate that Oracle slowed down on hiring foreign workforce. Oct-Mar is half of Oracle’s fiscal year, but they only filed 16% of the H1B applications as in 2025? That seems in line with a hiring freeze and subsequent layoff.
4/3/2026, 8:50:09 PM
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4/3/2026, 9:18:53 PM
by: alephnerd
Meanwhile this March we saw 15k manufacturing jobs, 26k construction jobs, and 91k healthcare and education jobs added [0].<p>Those are the voters that matter (unionized, geographically spread out, didn't price everyone else out via remote work) - not SWEs.<p>[0] - <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/82c1795b-704a-4da3-82ec-2f9cd52de01e" rel="nofollow">https://www.ft.com/content/82c1795b-704a-4da3-82ec-2f9cd52de...</a>
4/3/2026, 9:14:24 PM
by: reducesuffering
If you want to hire an H1B and claim there is no American to do that job, what about the 30k employees you just laid off? None of them can do the software engineering, sales, HR, etc. that a company like Oracle works on 99% of the time? It's quite schizophrenic for basic engineering companies like Oracle, Cisco, eBay, Paypal, etc. to claim there are no Americans to do the software engineering they require after they lay off thousands and there are millions of American software engineers looking for work.
4/3/2026, 9:05:25 PM
by: OrvalWintermute
H1B is generally a giant scam of Labor Arbitrage
4/3/2026, 8:46:49 PM
by: jmyeet
I personally think that doing a layoff of more than 2% of your workforce or 1000 people, whichever is high, should restrict you from filing for a work visa for a period of 3 years.<p>Or you can buy your way out of that restriction by paying each laid off worker 3 years of wages.<p>Pick one.
4/3/2026, 8:40:56 PM
by: jrkfofjw
Don't worry, Trump is in Ellison's pocket so this will go through.
4/3/2026, 8:45:27 PM
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4/3/2026, 9:09:51 PM
by: civitas_
[dead]
4/3/2026, 9:09:07 PM
by: zombot
The MAGA crowd will be ecstatic. They get fired while their president's buddy gets to hire new workers that are cheaper and more susceptible to extortion. Be careful what you vote for.
4/3/2026, 9:23:54 PM
by: timedude
Turns out it was true all the layoffs were because of AI (actual indians).
4/3/2026, 8:54:44 PM
by: sva_
They have many departments, and are probably reducing some of them while increasing the workforce in others. The idea that they hire 'those damn foreigners' to push down wages is probably true to some degree, but not the whole story. I also don't believe the majority of these H1B are directly hired in other countries for which there is now a $100k fee, but rather people who studied in the US under F1 visa who are exempt from this rule.
4/3/2026, 8:52:25 PM
by: throwatdem12311
Everyone that supports the H1-B program because they “can’t find talent” is my enemy.
4/3/2026, 9:22:22 PM