Published April 6, 2026 · Updated quarterly
H1B Denial Rates by Company: Which Employers Get Denied Most
Out of 787 H1B sponsors in our database, 59 had at least one petition denied — totaling 112 denials out of 141,363 applications. That means 728 companies had zero denials. Here is what the denial data reveals.
Companies with the Most H1B Denials
The following 15 companies had the highest number of denied H1B petitions in our dataset. A high denial count does not always mean a bad sponsor — high-volume filers will naturally have more denials in absolute terms. The denial rate (denials as a percentage of total filings) is a more meaningful comparison.
| Company | Denied | Total | Denial Rate | Avg Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google LLC | 16 | 6,557 | 0.24% | $180,688 |
| Deloitte & Touche Llp | 7 | 564 | 1.24% | $112,024 |
| Ernst & Young U.s. Llp | 6 | 6,236 | 0.10% | $146,442 |
| ExlService.com, LLC | 5 | 137 | 3.65% | $124,065 |
| Cummins INC. | 4 | 342 | 1.17% | $99,636 |
| Triad National Security, LLC | 4 | 83 | 4.82% | $113,125 |
| Cisco Systems, INC. | 3 | 842 | 0.36% | $140,614 |
| Meta Platforms, INC | 2 | 3,230 | 0.06% | $208,362 |
| Wal-Mart Associates, INC. | 2 | 2,033 | 0.10% | $145,677 |
| Deloitte Consulting Llp | 2 | 1,589 | 0.13% | $146,690 |
| Linkedin Corporation | 2 | 551 | 0.36% | $169,774 |
| Charles Schwab & Company, INC. | 2 | 327 | 0.61% | $153,392 |
| Optum Services, INC. | 2 | 314 | 0.64% | $126,628 |
| Fidelity Technology Group, LLC | 2 | 314 | 0.64% | $121,435 |
| L&T Technology Services Limited | 2 | 270 | 0.74% | $99,835 |
What Causes H1B Denials?
The most common reasons for H1B petition denials at the labor certification stage include:
- Specialty occupation issues — USCIS determines the position does not require a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific field
- Employer-employee relationship — particularly for staffing companies where the worker is placed at a third-party client site
- Wage compliance — the offered wage falls below the prevailing wage for the occupation and area
- Documentation gaps — incomplete or inconsistent evidence supporting the petition
The Bigger Picture
The overall H1B certification rate across all 787 employers is 98.8%. With 112 total denials out of 141,363 applications, denials are statistically rare at the LCA stage. Most scrutiny occurs later in the process at the USCIS adjudication stage, which is not captured in DOL labor certification data.
Check individual company profiles on our denial rate ranking page for a full sortable view.
Frequently Asked Questions
The overall LCA denial rate across our database of 787 employers is 0.08%. Most established sponsors have zero or near-zero denials at the labor certification stage.
Not exactly. The LCA (Labor Condition Application) is a DOL filing that precedes the actual H1B petition to USCIS. A denied LCA means the employer's application was not certified by the Department of Labor. The USCIS adjudication stage has different criteria and denial rates.
Not necessarily. A few denials among hundreds of approvals is normal for high-volume sponsors. Focus on the denial rate rather than the absolute count, and check the company's overall Sponsorship Score which factors in approval rates, wages, and consistency.
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