Why Industry Matters for Your Sponsorship Search

When international students think about H-1B sponsorship, technology companies tend to dominate the conversation. The data confirms that the technology and professional services sector is by far the largest sponsor. But it also reveals something less often discussed: meaningful sponsorship activity exists across manufacturing, finance, healthcare, education, and retail, sectors that many international candidates overlook entirely.

Understanding where sponsorship is concentrated by industry helps candidates make smarter decisions about where to focus their search, which employers to prioritise, and where competition for sponsored roles is likely to be highest.

One important note on this data: industry classification here reflects the primary industry of the company filing the visa, not the industry of the job role itself. A software engineer hired by a retail company would appear in the retail category, not technology. This means the true reach of sponsorship across role types is broader than any single industry figure suggests.

H-1B Sponsorship by Industry: Total LCA Filings (2020-2026)

Source: VisaViz analysis of DOL LCA disclosure data, FY2020-FY2026. Industry reflects the sponsoring employer's primary sector.

Breaking Down Each Industry

1. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services: 1,839,860 filings (51.4%)

This category, which includes technology companies, management consultancies, engineering firms, legal services, and scientific research organisations, accounts for more than half of all H-1B sponsorship activity in the United States. The dominance of this sector reflects both the volume of roles that qualify as specialty occupations and the global nature of the talent market in these fields. The largest individual sponsors in this category include Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Cognizant, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services.

2. Manufacturing: 369,328 filings (10.3%)

Manufacturing is often underestimated as a sponsorship sector. With over 369,000 filings across the study period, it is now the second-largest employer industry by LCA filing volume in the refreshed data. Sponsored roles in this sector span engineering, quality assurance, research and development, and supply chain management.

Companies like Intel, Qualcomm, and Cisco appear in this category, along with automotive, aerospace, and consumer goods manufacturers.

3. Information: 312,364 filings (8.7%)

The Information sector, covering telecommunications, media, publishing, and data services, remains a major sponsor by volume, though Manufacturing now ranks ahead of it in the refreshed data. This sector sits adjacent to the professional and technical services category and similarly draws heavily on international talent for software, data, and engineering roles.

4. Finance and Insurance: 286,538 filings (8.0%)

The finance and insurance sector is the fourth largest sponsor overall, driven primarily by investment banks, asset managers, insurance companies, and financial technology firms. JPMorgan Chase, with over 22,000 filings and a 0.9% denial rate, is one of the strongest sponsors in this category. Sponsored roles typically include quantitative analysts, software engineers, risk managers, and data scientists.

5. Educational Services: 220,856 filings (6.2%)

Universities and educational institutions account for a significant share of sponsorship activity. This is partly explained by the cap-exempt status of higher education employers, meaning universities can file H-1B petitions at any time of year without being subject to the annual lottery. For candidates pursuing academic or research careers, this sector offers a structurally different and often more reliable sponsorship pathway.

6. Retail Trade: 187,587 filings (5.2%)

Retail is a larger sponsor than most candidates expect. Walmart Associates alone filed over 21,000 LCAs between 2020 and 2026 with a 0.9% denial rate. Large retail organisations sponsor primarily for technology, data, finance, and supply chain roles rather than customer-facing positions.

7. Health Care and Social Assistance: 142,038 filings (4.0%)

Healthcare sponsorship is more concentrated than other sectors, with a significant portion of filings covering physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. The pathway for healthcare workers often involves different visa categories alongside or instead of H-1B, which partly explains the lower relative volume.

8. Administrative and Support Services: 42,501 filings (1.2%)

This category includes staffing agencies, business support services, and facilities management companies. Many IT staffing firms operate within this classification, placing sponsored workers at client sites across multiple industries.

New Hires vs Continuations: How the Market Has Shifted Since 2020

Raw filing volumes tell you how much sponsorship is happening. The breakdown between new employment, continuations, changes of employer, and amendments tells you what kind of sponsorship is happening, and how the market has evolved.

Source: VisaViz analysis of USCIS H-1B petition approvals, FY2020-FY2026. FY2026 figures reflect partial-year USCIS data.

What the Hiring Trends Reveal

New employment has remained broadly stable, with a notable 2024 peak

The number of new H-1B hires has stayed within a fairly consistent range of 113,000 to 140,000 per year between 2020 and 2025, with 2024 representing the strongest year for new international hiring at 139,692 filings. This suggests that despite broader macroeconomic uncertainty in the technology sector, demand for new international talent has remained resilient overall.

Continuations declined sharply from 2020 to 2023, then recovered

Continuation filings, representing existing H-1B holders renewing or extending their status with the same employer, fell from 123,195 in 2020 to a low of 87,770 in 2023. This likely reflects a combination of workers transitioning to green card status, departures from the workforce, and employer restructuring during the post-pandemic technology downturn. The 2025 recovery to 118,194 continuations suggests the workforce is stabilising.

Change of employer filings spiked in 2022, then fell sharply

Employer change filings peaked at 124,195 in 2022, coinciding with the height of the technology hiring boom and the 'Great Resignation' period when workers were most actively moving between companies. The subsequent decline to 63,866 in 2024 reflects the cooling of that market and reduced mobility in an environment of widespread technology layoffs.

2024 was the strongest year for net new international hiring

Looking at new employment alone, 2024 stands out as the strongest year in the dataset at 139,692 filings, despite being a period of significant workforce reduction at many large technology companies.

This likely reflects selective hiring in areas of sustained demand, particularly artificial intelligence, data engineering, and cloud infrastructure.

The sustained level of new employment filings throughout 2020 to 2025 is a significant data point. It suggests that H-1B sponsorship for new hires has remained active even during periods of broader technology sector contraction.

What This Means for International Candidates

Do not limit your search to technology companies

Over 48% of H-1B filings come from industries outside Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.

Finance, manufacturing, retail, and education all represent meaningful sponsorship pipelines that attract less competition from international candidates than the technology sector.

Target sectors where denial rates are lower

Sector-level denial rates vary. Educational institutions are cap-exempt and structurally more straightforward to sponsor through. Finance employers like JPMorgan Chase and Walmart in retail carry denial rates under 1%. Lower denial rates mean a more reliable path to approved status.

The change of employer data is useful for H-1B transfer decisions

The spike and subsequent decline in employer change filings between 2021 and 2024 mirrors broader labour market conditions. If you are considering an H-1B transfer, understanding the current climate for employer changes is an important part of evaluating your options.

2024's new hire strength is an encouraging signal for 2025 and 2026 applicants

The record new hire volume in 2024 suggests that employers with genuine international hiring appetite continued to sponsor actively even during a period of high-profile layoffs. Focusing on employers who maintained or grew their sponsorship activity during that period is a strong indicator of reliable long-term sponsorship intent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which industry sponsors the most H-1B visas?

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is by far the largest H-1B sponsoring sector, accounting for 51.4% of all LCA filings between 2020 and 2026. This category includes technology companies, consulting firms, engineering services, and research organisations.

Q: Does the industry classification reflect the type of job or the type of company?

It reflects the primary industry of the sponsoring company, not the job role. A data scientist employed by a retail company would appear in the retail category rather than the technology category. This means candidates should search by employer rather than industry category when researching specific role types.

Q: Are healthcare employers good H-1B sponsors?

Healthcare organisations do sponsor H-1B workers, primarily for physician, nursing, and specialist roles. However, many healthcare worker sponsorships use alternative visa pathways. Cap-exempt status applies to non-profit hospitals and research institutions affiliated with universities, making those organisations particularly attractive for eligible candidates.

Q: Why did employer change filings peak in 2022?

The 2022 spike in change of employer filings coincided with the technology hiring boom and the broader labour market mobility of the post-pandemic period. As the market cooled in 2023 and 2024, the number of workers actively transferring their H-1B to new employers declined significantly.

Q: How do I find which employers are sponsoring in a specific industry?

VisaViz allows you to filter the employer database by industry, role type, location, and year. This means you can identify which companies within a specific sector have the strongest recent sponsorship track record rather than relying on industry-level aggregates alone.