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20 H-1B Questions, Answered With Real DOL Data
September 9, 2026
Twenty of the most common H-1B questions — from wages and sponsors to what an LCA actually is — answered with real Department of Labor disclosure figures.
Most H-1B questions have a real number behind them — you just have to look at the disclosure data instead of the headlines. This page answers twenty of the questions we get most often, each in a few sentences, using figures drawn straight from Department of Labor Labor Condition Application (LCA) records covering fiscal years 2010 through 2026. Where a question deserves a full explanation, we link to a dedicated write-up rather than repeat it here.
Two things to keep in mind throughout. First, this dataset counts filings, not people — one worker can appear on several LCAs. Second, FY2026 is partial (roughly two quarters reported so far), so treat its totals as incomplete. For definitions of any term, our glossary and FAQ are the quickest references.
The big-picture numbers
1. How many H-1B / LCA filings are there in total?
The dataset holds about 9.3 million LCA filings from FY2010 through FY2026. That volume is why aggregate patterns — which employers file, which jobs, which wages — are statistically meaningful rather than anecdotal. Just remember the partial-year caveat before comparing FY2026 to a full year.
2. How many employers and occupations appear?
More than 152,000 distinct employers have filed, spanning 782 occupation codes. You can page through them all in the employer directory or the occupation index.
3. What's the current median wage?
The FY2026 median offered wage is $130,000. "Offered wage" is the annual figure the employer attests to on the LCA — it is a gross salary commitment, not take-home pay, and excludes bonuses or equity. See how the median climbed to that level in The H-1B Wage Boom.
4. Have wages actually risen over time?
Yes, and steadily. National median offered wages have trended sharply upward across the period.
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2010 | $65k |
| 2011 | $66k |
| 2012 | $68k |
| 2013 | $70k |
| 2014 | $71k |
| 2015 | $72k |
| 2016 | $74k |
| 2017 | $78k |
| 2018 | $88k |
| 2019 | $91k |
| 2020 | $97k |
| 2021 | $104k |
| 2022 | $107k |
| 2023 | $110k |
| 2024 | $113k |
| 2025 | $120k |
Sponsors
5. Who is the top H-1B sponsor right now?
In FY2026 the top filer is Amazon. Rankings shift year to year as hiring cycles turn, so check the live top H-1B sponsors list for the current order.
6. Which employers file the most overall?
The all-time leaders are dominated by IT services and big tech. The chart below pulls the current standings straight from the data.
7. Do big consulting firms and big tech hire differently?
Very differently. Outsourcing-heavy filers like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services run high-volume, mid-wage models, while product companies like Microsoft file fewer but higher-paid roles. We break down the contrast in Outsourcing Giants vs Big Tech and the head-to-head Google vs Infosys.
8. Which sponsors have the "cleanest" filing record?
Some employers show far fewer denials and withdrawals relative to their volume. We rank them in Cleanest H-1B Sponsors — but note that a withdrawn filing is not the same as a denied one (see Q17).
Jobs and wages
9. What is the most common H-1B occupation?
Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) lead by a wide margin, with about 2.76 million filings and a median near $102,000. Explore the role on the Software Developers page.
10. What are the most-filed occupations overall?
Computing roles fill most of the top spots, followed by analyst and engineering occupations.
11. What's the highest-paying H-1B occupation?
It isn't a tech job — it's Psychiatrists, with a median around $210,000. Medical specialties top the pay table, as we explain in The Highest-Paying H-1B Jobs Aren't in Tech.
12. Why do software roles pay less than doctors here?
Because volume and seniority mix differently. Software Developers span millions of early- and mid-career filings, pulling the median down, while physician roles are fewer and uniformly senior. Compare any two roles directly on the occupation pages.
13. Is the data scientist role really growing?
It is one of the fastest-rising occupations in the dataset, tracking the AI-era demand curve. We chart the climb in The Rise of the Data Scientist; the live Data Scientists page shows current figures.
14. How does pay rise from entry to senior level in one job?
The DOL sets four prevailing-wage levels (I–IV) for every occupation. Here is that ladder for Software Developers, showing how the floor climbs from entry to expert.
| Level | P25 | Median | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | $78,459 | $90,000 | $112,000 |
| Level II | $92,000 | $103,000 | $126,400 |
| Level III | $110,900 | $130,364 | $159,809 |
| Level IV | $133,120 | $155,688 | $187,000 |
A fuller walkthrough lives in Prevailing Wage Levels I–IV Explained.
Places
15. Which state has the most H-1B activity?
California, with about 1.68 million filings — well ahead of any other state. It's the default gravity center of the program, but far from the only hub. Browse the California page or the full top H-1B states list.
16. Is H-1B hiring only a California story?
No. Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Washington all carry heavy volume, and several smaller states punch above their size. We map the spread in Where H-1B Jobs Actually Are.
Definitions and common mix-ups
17. Does "certified" or "withdrawn" mean the visa was approved or denied?
No — and this is the single most common misread. An LCA certification is a Department of Labor step; it is not a USCIS visa approval. Likewise, a withdrawn filing was pulled by the employer and is not a denial. The glossary defines each status precisely.
18. Is an LCA the same as an H-1B visa?
No. The LCA is the wage-and-working-conditions attestation an employer files before petitioning for the visa. One is a labor filing; the other is an immigration decision made by a different agency. The FAQ walks through the full sequence.
19. What is the "prevailing wage," and is it what the worker takes home?
The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for a given role and location, drawn from DOL wage surveys. The offered wage on a filing must meet or exceed it — but neither figure is take-home pay, since taxes, benefits, bonuses, and equity all sit outside it. Definitions are in the glossary.
20. How do I find sponsors for my specific job and state?
Start from the occupation and filter by state — for example, Software Developers in California — or use the Sponsor Finder. Our step-by-step guide, How to Find H-1B Sponsors for Your Job and State, shows the full workflow.
The takeaway
The recurring theme across all twenty answers is that the disclosure data rewards precision. Filings aren't people, a certified LCA isn't an approved visa, a withdrawal isn't a denial, and an offered wage isn't a paycheck. Hold those distinctions and the numbers here — 9.3 million filings, a $130K median, 152,000 employers — become genuinely useful for weighing an offer, researching a sponsor, or benchmarking a salary. Dig deeper through the rankings, the FAQ, or any linked entity page.
- H-1B
- LCA data
- prevailing wage
- visa sponsors
- FAQ