Walmart pauses job offers to H-1B candidates amid $100,000 visa fee rule: Report

Walmart Inc. has paused extending job offers to candidates who require H-1B work visas, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The move comes in the wake of the Trump administration’s recent decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B applications, a policy that has disrupted hiring plans across several industries.

According to Bloomberg, the guideline primarily affects Walmart’s corporate employees, though it remains limited in scale compared with its overall US workforce of about 1.6 million.

Further, government data show that Walmart employs an estimated 2,390 H-1B visa holders, making it the largest user among major retail chains.

While Walmart’s numbers are significant, they are far smaller than those of technology companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Meta Platforms Inc., which rely more heavily on foreign skilled workers.

“Walmart is committed to hiring and investing in the best talent to serve our customers, while remaining thoughtful about our H-1B hiring approach,” a Walmart spokeswoman told Bloomberg.

The $100,000 visa fee, introduced as part of the administration’s broader immigration overhaul, has sent ripples through U.S. corporations that depend on international talent, Bloomberg added.

Separately, in August 2025, Walmart had dismissed online speculation linking the retailer to alleged misuse of H-1B visas. A company spokesperson told CNBC-TV18 that while an internal probe resulted in the termination of one vendor and a small number of U.S.-based associates, “this investigation had nothing to do with H-1B visas.”

The clarification followed unverified claims on social media suggesting contract-hiring irregularities at the retailer’s Global Tech division. Some online posts had tied the matter to H-1B visa holders without evidence, sparking concern among members of the Indian diaspora in the U.S.