H1B Sponsorship in Life, Physical, and Social Science
Life, Physical, and Social Science occupations (SOC prefix 19) account for 2,716 H1B applications across 158 job titles. The average wage is $77,901 with a 97.8% approval rate.
Life, Physical, and Social Science is one of the SOC-coded occupation categories CMS and DOL use to organize H-1B filings. 2,716 applications fall under this category across 158 distinct roles, with an industry-wide average wage of $77,901 and an approval rate of 98%. Within the Life, Physical, and Social Science category, the most-filed individual role is Research Associate and the top sponsoring employer is Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The H-1B mix in this category reflects both the labor-supply dynamics of the underlying occupations and the structural reliance of specific industries on international hires.
Reading the Life, Physical, and Social Science category against the LakeQuality sponsorship rubric is useful when comparing employers within the same occupational space: approval rate, wage premium, and filing consistency carry different meanings in different industries, but they remain comparable within a single category.
Top Roles in Life, Physical, and Social Science
| # | Role | Applications | Avg Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Research Associate | 310 | $70,110 |
| 2 | Postdoctoral Research Associate | 229 | $69,898 |
| 3 | Postdoctoral Associate | 225 | $68,321 |
| 4 | Research Fellow | 184 | $77,160 |
| 5 | Instructor | 151 | $79,807 |
| 6 | Lecturer | 120 | $73,333 |
| 7 | Research Assistant Professor | 93 | $87,979 |
| 8 | Staff Scientist | 87 | $87,022 |
| 9 | Associate Research Scientist | 72 | $83,700 |
| 10 | Postdoctoral Researcher | 60 | $62,405 |
Top Employers in Life, Physical, and Social Science
Frequently Asked Questions
Life, Physical, and Social Science occupations accounted for 2,716 H1B labor condition applications in our dataset, spanning 158 distinct job titles classified under SOC prefix 19.
The average H1B wage for Life, Physical, and Social Science roles is $77,901, based on DOL labor certification data. Individual wages vary significantly by specific role, location, and employer.
Source: DOL OFLC H-1B disclosure data, 2026.