H-1B & PERM Watch
A source-backed tracker for U.S. tech employers relevant to DS/MLE/SWE candidates. It separates official government actions from employee/community reports, and treats “green” as favorable evidence — never as a guarantee.
Latest policy / enforcement alerts
Employer tracker
H-1B column describes historical/current sponsorship signals, not a verified commitment to transfer a particular candidate. Day-1/batch statements are anecdotal unless explicitly identified as company policy. No new FY2026 employer-by-employer LCA/PERM disclosure file was independently reconciled in the Nov. 8 review; employer-specific policies and individual H-1B transfer willingness remain unverified.
| Employer | Status | PERM read | H-1B read | Evidence / caution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snowflake | GREEN | Day-1 batch PERM reported | Active sponsor | Oct. 2026 employee referral explicitly reports Day-1 batch PERM; poster says I-140 was recently approved. Community report |
| Databricks | GREEN | Day-1 / early PERM reported | Active sponsor | Recent employee/candidate reports remain favorable; verify the exact legal entity, location and current batch before accepting an offer based on immigration timing. |
| Airbnb | GREEN | Day-1 reported | Active sponsor | Apr. 2026 community report says Day-1; Aug. discussions show some LMT uncertainty. Community report |
| F5 | GREEN | Green-card process reported normal | Active sponsor | Apr. 2026 employee report said the process was operating normally. Community report |
| NVIDIA | YELLOW | Day-1/batch reported, but outcome concerns | Strong sponsor | Some 2026 reports describe Day-1/batch access, while a separate cluster reports PERM denials and LMT concerns. Do not treat NVIDIA as uniformly “safe.” Denial discussion |
| Tesla | YELLOW | Day-1 reported for some roles/levels | Active sponsor | A Jul. 2026 return-offer report describes Day-1 PERM. Confirm the policy for the exact role/site. Community report |
| TikTok / ByteDance | YELLOW | Day-1 reputation, LMT can be slow | Strong sponsor | 2026 reports describe repeated LMT attempts for some teams. Entity, role and location materially affect outcomes. Community tracker |
| Instacart / Maplebear | YELLOW | Active but under monitoring | Active sponsor | Oct. 2026 DOJ/EEOC settlement requires PERM process changes and monitoring; not a debarment. DOJ |
| Stripe | YELLOW | Active; verify current LMT | Active sponsor | Recent evidence supports continued sponsorship, but role/level eligibility and current LMT success should be confirmed with recruiting. |
| Roblox | YELLOW | Historically early start | Active sponsor | Historically immigration-friendly; current company-wide initiation timing is less well verified than Snowflake's. |
| YELLOW | Historically Day-1 | Active sponsor | Prior favorable policy reports exist; recent LMT/freeze conditions are less clear. | |
| Cisco | YELLOW | High-volume sponsor; start timing unclear | Strong sponsor | Good sponsorship history, but no sufficiently current universal Day-1 rule verified. |
| Intel | YELLOW | Active; timing unclear | Strong sponsor | PERM activity exists, but initiation policy can depend on org/location and workforce actions. |
| Palantir | YELLOW | Recent PERM success; start timing unclear | Active sponsor | Positive case outcomes do not establish Day-1 initiation; verify recruiter/attorney policy. |
| OpenAI | YELLOW | PERM exists; timing not verified | Active sponsor | DOJ Aug. 4, 2026 settlement (including Statsig) requires recruitment-policy changes and monitoring, not debarment. Day-1 and recent LMT success unverified. DOJ |
| Google / Meta / Amazon / Apple | YELLOW | Varies by employer, level and site | Strong sponsors | Large sponsorship programs do not imply universal Day-1 PERM; layoffs and LMT conditions can change eligibility/timing. |
| Microsoft | RED | PERM suspended | H-1B is a separate program | Federal PERM suspension reported Oct. 8, 2026. Reuters |
| Adobe | RED | PERM suspended | H-1B is a separate program | Included in the Oct. 8 federal PERM suspension. Reuters |
| Cloudera | RED | Two-year PERM debarment | H-1B is a separate program | DOJ/DOL settlement. DOJ |
DOL PERM system snapshot
Verified Nov. 8, 2026: DOL FLAG's latest published PERM analyst-review averages (as of Oct. 31) remain 300 days (last 30 days), 315 days (last 90 days), and 360 days (last 180 days). These are rolling averages, not a guaranteed individual case timeline. PERM prevailing-wage processing was working on June 2026 receipts as of Sept. 30; a newer PWD month was not independently confirmed in this refresh.
Source: DOL FLAG Processing Times
Recruiter questions that matter
- For this exact role, legal entity and work location, when can PERM start?
- Is PERM batch or individual?
- Are recent candidates in this job family/location passing the labor-market test?
- Are layoffs, cooldown periods, recruitment pauses or government actions affecting new cases?
- Will the company support an H-1B transfer immediately, and which costs/fees are company-paid?
Status methodology
GREEN Recent evidence supports favorable PERM initiation/movement and no known major blocker.
YELLOW Sponsorship exists, but timing, LMT, layoffs, enforcement or evidence quality creates material uncertainty.
RED A known suspension, debarment or comparable barrier currently makes PERM unreliable.
Official government sources override community reports. Community posts are used only for employer policies that are rarely published, such as Day-1 timing, batch cycles and LMT experience.