Note: Before Microsoft Corporation can hire foreign workers permanently or temporarily, it must file labor certifications with the Department of Labor(DOL), demonstrating that it is paying the required wage for the positions in the geographic region where the jobs are located. Above table reports Labor Condition Application(LCA) for H1B visa and Labor Certification(LC) for green card filed by Microsoft Corporation. The data only indicates the number of applications filed by Microsoft Corporation. It does not mean that Microsoft Corporation actually got the visa and hired the workers.

Our LCA data includes LCA submitted for not only new employment, but also continuation or change in previously approved employment, new concurrent employment, change in employer and amended petition. Usually, only LCA for new employment needs H1B Visa quota if it is not cap-exempt.

Microsoft Corporation has applied for 19,457 LC and LCA from fiscal year 2015 to 2017. But this does not mean they really hired 19,457 foreign workers during this period. The visa applications might have been denied. When an employee renews or transfers his H1B visa or change work location under some circumstances, he will also file a new LCA application.

Department of Labor(DOL) typically certifies more than 3 times the number of foreign work requests than the number of H1B visas issued by USCIS. So there is no one to one relationship between the number of workers certified by the DOL and the number of H1B work visas issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).