Walmart Pauses Hiring for Roles Requiring H-1B Visas After Administration Raises Fees

Walmart has temporarily halted recruitment of candidates who require H-1B visas to work in the United States, a source familiar with the decision said, illustrating how recent changes to federal immigration policy are influencing corporate hiring plans. The move follows the Trump administration’s September announcement to impose significantly higher fees on H-1B petitions, including a newly introduced $100,000 charge for each new application, a measure officials framed as protecting domestic jobs and curbing misuse of the program.

A Walmart spokesperson said the company remains committed to bringing on and investing in top talent while taking a measured approach to H-1B hiring. The source indicated there may be limited exceptions to the pause, though those details were not publicly authorized. Historically created by Congress in 1990 to enable employers to fill specialised roles when qualified U.S. applicants are unavailable, the H-1B programme carries an annual cap of 65,000 visas plus an additional 20,000 slots for advanced-degree holders from U.S. institutions; when applications exceed the cap a lottery is used to allocate visas.

Administration officials have presented the higher fee as a deterrent against substituting foreign hires for American workers and as part of a broader strategy that pairs trade measures with immigration restrictions to encourage domestic investment and hiring. Walmart, the country’s largest private employer with roughly 1.6 million U.S. employees at the end of its most recent fiscal year, typically relies on H-1B visas for a small share of its corporate workforce, which is concentrated at its Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters and offices in key metropolitan areas such as the San Francisco Bay Area.

Government data show Walmart sponsored 2,390 H-1B holders as of June 30, ranking it ninth among U.S. employers; Microsoft led the list with 5,189 visa holders, followed closely by Meta. The administration’s fee increase has prompted legal pushback from business groups. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit challenging the surcharge, warning that the new cost could place the H-1B programme out of reach for many employers—particularly startups and small- to mid-sized firms—undermining the law’s intent to give U.S. businesses of all sizes access to global talent.