Why Role-Level Sponsorship Data Matters

Most conversations about H-1B sponsorship focus on which companies sponsor. That is a useful starting point, but it answers only half the question. The other half is whether a company sponsors for your specific type of role.

An employer with 50,000 LCA filings may have sponsored predominantly for software engineers and data scientists, with very little activity in product management or finance roles. A candidate targeting the wrong role at an otherwise strong sponsor may find the path is far narrower than the company's overall filing volume suggests.

The data below covers 24 sponsored job titles drawn from VisaViz's analysis of LCA filings between 2020 and 2026. It shows total filing volumes, median sponsored wages, and the middle 50% wage range for each role, giving candidates a clearer picture of where sponsorship is most active and what compensation to expect.

Software Engineer accounts for 1,130,882 filings out of approximately 3.6 million total LCA filings in this period. That is roughly one in three sponsored positions across the entire US labour market.

H-1B Sponsorship by Job Title: Full Role Intelligence Table (2020-2026)

All 24 roles are ranked by total LCA filing volume. Median wage reflects the annualised LCA wage median for each role across all sponsoring employers in the dataset.

Source: VisaViz analysis of DOL LCA disclosures, FY2020-FY2026.

The Highest-Paying Sponsored Roles

Sponsorship volume and sponsorship compensation do not always correlate. Some of the highest-paying sponsored roles are filed in relatively modest volumes, meaning less competition for candidates who qualify. The table below ranks roles by median sponsored wage rather than filing volume.

Source: VisaViz analysis of DOL LCA disclosures, FY2020-FY2026.

Key Findings From the Role Data

Software Engineer is the dominant sponsored role by a significant margin

With 1,130,882 filings between 2020 and 2026, Software Engineer accounts for approximately one in three sponsored positions across the entire dataset. No other role comes close in volume. The next largest, Business Analyst, has 151,010 filings. For international candidates in software engineering, the sponsored job market is structurally larger than for any other profession.

Physician leads on compensation in the refreshed data

Physician carries the highest median sponsored wage at $183,101. Product Manager ($150,444), Data Scientist ($135,874), and other specialist roles also stand out as high-wage roles with meaningful filing volumes.

Physician sponsorship is significant and highly compensated

With 71,609 filings and a median sponsored wage of $183,101, Physician is the highest-paying sponsored role in the refreshed dataset. Healthcare sponsorship often follows different pathways than technology roles, but for eligible candidates the data confirms that medical professionals represent a substantial share of H-1B activity outside the technology sector.

Business Analyst volume is high but wages lag other technical roles

Business Analyst is the second most sponsored role by volume at 151,010 filings, but carries a median sponsored wage of $92,040, below most engineering and data roles. This reflects the breadth of employers who file under this title, including many IT consulting firms that sponsor at lower wage levels. Candidates targeting Business Analyst roles should pay particular attention to employer-level wage data rather than relying on the category median alone.

Data roles show strong volume and above-average wages

Data Engineer (67,474 filings, $118,102), Data Scientist (67,114 filings, $135,874), and Data Analyst (57,885 filings, $98,800) collectively represent nearly 200,000 sponsored positions across the study period. This reflects the sustained demand for data talent across technology, finance, healthcare, and retail sectors, with wages well above the overall H-1B median of $110,000.

Postdoctoral Researcher is the lowest-paying sponsored role in the dataset

With a median sponsored wage of $61,200 and 35,002 filings, Postdoctoral Researcher represents a structurally different sponsorship pathway. Most postdoctoral roles are based at cap-exempt universities and research institutions, meaning they bypass the annual lottery. For candidates in academic or scientific research careers, this pathway offers greater certainty of approval, even if compensation is lower than industry equivalents.

How to Use Role-Level Data in Your Job Search

Understanding sponsorship patterns at the role level changes how you approach both employer research and application strategy.

Search by role, not just by company

An employer with a strong overall sponsorship track record may have very little history of filing for your specific role. Before investing time in an application, use VisaViz to check whether the employer has filed LCAs for your target job title specifically, not just whether they sponsor in general.

Use wage data to benchmark offers

The median sponsored wages in this dataset give you a concrete reference point when evaluating salary offers. If an employer is offering you a sponsored Data Scientist role at $90,000, the data shows the market median for that sponsored position is $135,874. That is a meaningful gap worth raising in negotiation.

Consider lower-volume roles strategically

Roles like Engineering Manager, Machine Learning Engineer, and Hardware Engineer carry some of the highest median wages in the dataset while being filed in volumes well under 30,000. For candidates with the right experience, targeting these roles means competing in a smaller pool while commanding significantly higher compensation.

Do not underestimate non-technology roles

Professor (75,602 filings), Physician (71,609 filings), Accountant (40,142 filings), and Project Manager (55,377 filings) represent substantial sponsorship pipelines outside the core technology job families.

Candidates in these fields have more options than the technology-dominated conversation around H-1B sponsorship often suggests.

Factor in the cap-exempt advantage for academic and research roles

Professor and Postdoctoral Researcher roles are predominantly filed by universities and research institutions, which are cap-exempt. This means sponsorship for these roles can begin at any time of year without lottery risk. For candidates in academic careers, this structural advantage is worth weighing against the lower median wages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which job title has the most H-1B sponsorship filings?

Software Engineer, by a significant margin. With 1,130,882 LCA filings between 2020 and 2026, it accounts for approximately one in three sponsored positions across the entire US labour market during this period. Business Analyst is a distant second at 151,010 filings.

Q: Which sponsored role has the highest median wage?

Physician leads on median sponsored wage at $183,101, followed by Product Manager at $150,444 and Data Scientist at $135,874.

Q: Are all sponsored roles subject to the H-1B lottery?

No. Roles at cap-exempt organisations, including universities, non-profit research institutions, and government research entities, are not subject to the annual lottery. This primarily affects Professor and Postdoctoral Researcher roles in this dataset, which are predominantly filed by academic institutions.

Q: Why does Business Analyst have such a lower median wage than other technical roles?

Business Analyst filings come from a very wide range of employers, including many IT consulting and staffing firms that sponsor at lower wage levels. The median is pulled down by the volume of lower-wage filings in this category. Candidates should filter by specific employer rather than relying on the role-level median when evaluating individual opportunities.

Q: Can I search for sponsorship data by specific job title on VisaViz?

Yes. VisaViz allows you to filter LCA and H-1B data by job title, employer, location, and year. This means you can see which employers have filed for your specific role most frequently, what they have paid, and how their activity has changed over time.

Q: Is Machine Learning Engineer a good target for international candidates?

The data suggests it is a strong option for qualified candidates. With a median sponsored wage of $163,000 and 25,675 total filings, the role is well-compensated and growing in demand. The relatively lower filing volume compared to Software Engineer means the pool of sponsored candidates is smaller, which can work in a qualified candidate's favour.