How to research an employer using its H-1B filings

What an employer page can and cannot tell you

An employer page on this site summarizes the certified Labor Condition Applications that employer filed in one federal data release: how many there were, the median stated wage, the range the middle half covers, the jobs it filed for most, the share of filings at each wage level, and the states of the worksites. It does not say who was hired, what anyone is paid today, how the company treats staff, or whether it will sponsor you. It is one input for research, with the caveats in how to read LCA data.

A research routine

1. Check the filing count first. A median from 8 filings can move a lot with one new application. Treat pages with hundreds of filings and pages with a dozen very differently.
2. Read the spread. The 90th percentile divided by the 10th shows how widely the employer stated wages. A narrow spread suggests similar roles; a wide one means many levels or job families sit in one number, so look at the job table.
3. Go to the job table. Each row compares the employer's filed wages for one occupation with the national OEWS median for that job. This is the number to compare with your own role, not the all-jobs median.
4. Look at the wage level mix. The share of filings at levels I to IV shows how the employer classified its roles. It reflects the employer's form choices, not the workers.
5. Check the worksites. A group concentrated in expensive metros will show higher medians than the same employer elsewhere.
6. Cross-check with the job-and-metro page. The occupation page for your city shows what all employers stated, which keeps one large sponsor from defining the market in your mind.

Two real examples

The table shows the two employers with the most certified filings with usable wages in the release. A very large sponsor files for many jobs, so its all-jobs median is a blend and its spread is wide; the useful comparison for you is the row for your occupation.

Reading small employers

Employers with fewer than 10 filings show no 10th or 90th percentile, because a tail from so few filings is mostly noise. Those with 10 to 29 filings show the full set but are kept out of search engine indexes, since a handful of applications is thin evidence. If your target employer is small, lean on the occupation and metro page and on the OEWS median, and treat the employer median as a loose hint.

Combine it with sources outside this site

Public filings are a start. Job postings that state pay ranges (a growing number of states require them), your own conversations with current staff, and the employer's published benefits all add information the filing cannot. The offer comparison guide shows how to bring them together. Use the offer check to place a specific salary.

Questions