Amazon exploiting visa programs to replace U.S. workers

For the graduates who cannot find jobs and the laid-off tech workers still searching for work, it can feel demeaning to hear Big Tech companies continue to claim there is a labor shortage when, in reality, there are more than enough willing and able Americans ready to step in. The repeated message that there are “no qualified Americans” does more than insult them: It leaves lasting damage that cannot be undone by simply finding new employment.

However, Big Tech’s claims do not stand up to actual documented evidence. In fact, Amazon’s own filings with the U.S. Department of Labor comprise a comprehensive record of the company’s immigration submissions. And that data dismantles the “shortage” narrative, revealing a system in which loopholes are used, recruitment requirements minimized and federal certifications freely obtained for foreign labor – even as qualified Americans are sidelined.

Between 2009 and 2024, Amazon filed more than 111,000 petitions for H-1B visas, a program intended for positions requiring “specialized knowledge” that cannot be filled by any qualified U.S. workers. Of these filings, 39,012 were new H-1B visa applications, while 72,726 were renewal applications for existing foreign workers.

In addition to its H-1B activity, Amazon also made extensive use of the Department of Labor’s Program Electronic Review Management, or PERM, process. Between 2020 and 2024, the company filed
21,012 labor certification applications through PERM, an essential step for sponsoring foreign workers for permanent residency in the United States.

How does the PERM process work?

The PERM program is the first step in sponsoring a foreign worker for a U.S. green card (permanent residence). Before applying, an employer must test the labor market to determine if there are any qualified, willing and available U.S. workers for the job. That is the U.S. Department of Labor’s process for requiring employers to show they made a genuine effort to hire an American before receiving approval to sponsor a foreign worker.

Yes, despite Amazon tech jobs being highly sought after by Americans, the company claimed that for all 21,012 roles, no qualified U.S. workers applied – essentially asserting that only the foreign workers they hired were interested in, or qualified for, those positions.

Regulation on Qualifications for the Job:

The batch advantage: Circumventing the law and regulations to avoid hiring Americans

Wage-level “batching” is when a company reuses the same government-issued prevailing wage determination for multiple green card applications instead of getting a fresh wage review for each job. In Amazon’s case, the company obtained only 3,875 wage determinations but used them to file 21,012 applications, allowing Amazon to lock in older, lower wage rates, keep salaries down and push applications through faster while doing less recruitment for each role. About 82% of Amazon’s green card applications reused wage determinations, meaning the vast majority did not have a wage rate specific to that job.

How much could Amazon save by paying below-market wages? It’s all about cheaper labor, not skilled labor

This estimate is calculated by comparing the true median wages for these roles, sourced from multiple independent wage datasets, to the prevailing wage rates Amazon used when sponsoring green cards. The methodology assumes that for each job level, the difference between the market median and the prevailing wage represents the per-position savings, multiplied by the number of positions at that level.

Level 1 wages: $285 million saved

Level 2 wages: $434 million saved

Level 3 wages: $20 million saved

Total estimated savings: Over $739 million

These figures are conservative estimates, while the real savings could be significantly higher. Under the prevailing wage system, the “or similarly employed” provision requires employers to use whichever is higher: the local average wage for the occupation or the wage paid to workers in similar roles. In Big Tech, market rates are typically far above local averages. If Amazon had followed this rule as intended, many roles would have been pegged to the higher Big Tech pay scale, not the lower local rate Amazon appears to have used.

This suggests Amazon did not apply the provision as required, allowing it to lock in far lower wages than the market rate for similar work in their industry.

Department of Labor: Prevailing Wage Information and Resources:

While Amazon claims there were no qualified Americans for these roles and that the foreign workers sponsored were on “high-skilled” visas, the overwhelming use of Prevailing Wage Levels 1 and 2 tells a different story. These wage levels are typically reserved for entry-level workers with little or no experience, such as recent college graduates. This means Amazon is either abusing the prevailing wage system or abusing the visa program itself. By sponsoring these workers at entry-level rates, Amazon not only undercuts wages for equivalent American jobs, but also eliminates opportunities for U.S. graduates and early-career professionals. Once these foreign workers obtain permanent residency, they remain permanently in an already oversaturated labor market, further reducing opportunities for Americans.

Amazon’s recruitment tactics: Can’t find qualified Americans … or not looking?

The lawis clear: When sponsoring a foreign worker for a green card, an employer must recruit in good faith and advertise the job in a way that gives qualified U.S. workers a real, fair chance to apply. The regulations require open, accessible recruitment that mirrors how the company normally hires.

Amazon’s approach has undermined that requirement. For example, the company ran vague newspaper ads in the The Seattle Times’ Sunday print edition, sometimes saying the job could be done “anywhere in the U.S.,” but requiring applicants to mail in paper resumes, rather than applying online through Amazon’s own career site.

Is this legal? The Department of Justice previously sued Facebook for using similar tactics, resulting in a $14.25 million settlement in 2021.

According to the DOJ’s press release about the case: “Facebook routinely reserved jobs for temporary visa holders through the PERM process. Specifically, the lawsuit alleged that, in contrast to its standard recruitment practices, Facebook used recruiting methods designed to deter U.S. workers from applying to certain positions, such as requiring applications to be submitted by mail only.”

How 1 little ad was used to give 585 American jobs to foreign workers

Recruitment batching is a tactic whereby a company uses a single, minimal recruitment effort, such as one newspaper ad, to satisfy the Department of Labor’s PERM recruitment requirement for hundreds of different jobs at once. Instead of advertising and recruiting separately for each open position, the company “batches” them together under one generic posting, often with vague descriptions and outdated application methods that discourage real applicants. This allows the employer to claim it “tested the labor market” without ever giving qualified Americans a meaningful opportunity to apply.

Amazon has used this strategy repeatedly. In one case, the company ran a single ad in the Seattle Times for “multiple positions,” listed no clear skills or experience requirements, claimed the jobs could be done “anywhere in the U.S.,” and required resumes to be postal mailed in, completely bypassing Amazon’s own career website. That single ad was used to justify 585 PERM filings for Software Development Engineer II roles. Similar examples show the scale of batching:

This approach violates both the spirit and potentially the letter of the law, both in terms of 20 CFR § 656.10(c) (bona fide job requirements) and 20 CFR § 656.17(e) (good faith recruitment), as well as the BALCA precedent, which has repeatedly held that mail-only applications, generic ads and recycled prevailing wage determinations undermine recruitment integrity.

In plain terms, Amazon’s “batching” is not legitimate recruitment, but it has been very successful in avoiding hiring Americans.

Regulation on Attestations:

Finding that employers placed unjustified hurdles in the path of U.S. applicants in an apparent attempt to discourage their pursuit of the jobs.

Out with the Americans. In with the foreign labor

During Amazon’s largest reported layoff on Nov. 16, 2022, which affected approximately 10,000 employees, the company submitted 2,341 PERM labor certification applications within the federally protected period designed to prevent the displacement of U.S. workers.

On each application, Amazon certified that no qualified U.S. workers were available or considered for the roles, as required by law. Despite the mass layoffs, the Department of Labor approved 2,217 of these applications, authorizing foreign labor for positions that may have been recently held by American workers who had just been terminated.

Amazon layoff graphs provided by Red Line Project (Data Source: Department of Labor):

Regulations on Layoffs:

Amazon’s long-term use of U.S. visa and green card programs reveals a systemic strategy that leverages regulatory gaps to replace American workers with lower-cost foreign labor. Through wage-level manipulation, minimal recruitment efforts and large-scale filings timed alongside layoffs, the company has embedded a foreign labor pipeline deep into its operations while reducing domestic opportunities.

Follow WND’s exclusive investigative series exposing the quiet but massive war against the American worker. From corporate boardrooms to foreign labor pipelines, WND is naming names and demanding justice. Stay informed. Keep America First.

Follow WND on X, sign up for its free Email News Alerts as well as its weekly immigration newsletter, and stay plugged in to WND.com.