US H-1B data: software developer filings fall 36% as AI-titled roles rise

US employer H-1B filings for software developers fell 36% from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2026, comparing October through June, while filings with AI job titles rose and made up 1.8% of all certified filings in fiscal 2026. New-employment software filings fell 46%, and the fiscal 2026 drop was steepest from October to December 2025, down 26% year over year, after the White House announced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions. Titles containing "machine learning" or "artificial intelligence" rose 80%, and shorter titles such as "AI engineer" supplied 92% of the latest year's increase; OpenAI and Anthropic included AI or machine learning in only 11% of their 402 certified filings.