How do I find companies that sponsor H-1B visas?

How do you find H-1B sponsors for your job title, such as data analyst?

Filter the LCA data by job title and by occupation code. Titles vary ("Data Analyst", "Analyst, Data", "Business Intelligence Analyst"), but the SOC code groups them: data analysts often fall under 15-2051 Data Scientists or 13-1161 Market Research Analysts. Then filter to certified cases, your state, and the last four quarters.

The useful columns in the DOL file are EMPLOYER_NAME, JOB_TITLE, SOC_CODE and SOC_TITLE, WORKSITE_CITY and WORKSITE_STATE, WAGE_RATE_OF_PAY_FROM with WAGE_UNIT_OF_PAY, PW_WAGE_LEVEL, CASE_STATUS and VISA_CLASS. Keep rows where VISA_CLASS is H-1B and CASE_STATUS is Certified.

Employers with many recent certified filings for your occupation, in the city where you want to work, are the ones worth approaching first.

What is a step-by-step way to build a list of H-1B sponsors?

Start narrow: one occupation, one or two states, the last year of filings. Build a shortlist of employers from the data, then check their career pages for open roles that match, and ask early in the process whether the role is open to sponsorship. Track every employer so you do not ask twice.

1. 01

   Name your occupation

   Find the SOC code that fits your work on the O*NET or BLS site.

2. 02

   Filter the filings

   Certified H-1B cases, your SOC code, your states, the last four quarters.

3. 03

   Rank the employers

   By the number of certified filings for your occupation, not overall.

4. 04

   Check the wages

   Compare the offered wages with your level. A Level I wage means the employer filed for entry-level work.

5. 05

   Find open roles

   Look for matching postings on each shortlisted employer's career site.

6. 06

   Ask about sponsorship

   At the first recruiter call, ask directly whether this role can be sponsored.

Does an LCA filing mean the company will sponsor you?

No. A certified LCA shows the employer intended to hire an H-1B worker for that job at that worksite, at that time. It does not promise sponsorship for any other opening, and some LCAs are for extensions or transfers of people already employed. Treat the data as a sign of willingness, then ask about the specific role.

Policies change too: a company that filed many LCAs last year may have paused sponsorship since. The recruiter's answer for this posting is the only one that counts.

What do the wages in H-1B data tell you?

They are offered wages on a filing, not salary data. An employer states the wage range it will pay and the prevailing wage level for the occupation and area, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). The lower end of the stated range is a useful floor for the role, not a measure of what people actually earn.

For pay by occupation across all workers, use official salary statistics instead, such as the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics on the salary data page.