H1BTracker

Our Methodology

H1BTracker helps international workers evaluate potential employers by analyzing H1B visa sponsorship patterns. We use official Department of Labor disclosure data to show which companies sponsor visas, how much they pay, and how reliable their sponsorship track record is.

Data Sources

Our primary data source is the DOL H1B Foreign Labor Certification Data, published quarterly by the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. This dataset contains every Labor Condition Application (LCA) filed by employers seeking to hire H1B workers, including the offered wage, job title, work location, and certification status.

The data is downloaded as CSV files from dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/performance and covers multiple years of filings.

How We Calculate the Sponsorship Score

Every employer receives a Sponsorship Score on a 0-100 scale (A-F) that grades how well they sponsor H1B visas:

  • Approval Rate — 40% weight. The percentage of LCAs that are certified (approved) vs. denied or withdrawn. High approval rates indicate clean, well-prepared filings — a proxy for a reliable sponsorship process.
  • Wage vs. Prevailing Wage — 30% weight. How much the offered wage exceeds the DOL-determined prevailing wage for the occupation and location. Paying significantly above prevailing wage indicates the employer values the position and is less likely to be using the H1B program to underpay workers.
  • Volume Consistency — 20% weight. Whether the employer sponsors consistently across years, rather than sporadically. Consistent sponsorship suggests an established immigration program with experienced legal support.
  • Denial Rate (inverse) — 10% weight. The percentage of applications denied by DOL, which signals potential compliance issues or aggressive wage practices.

Letter grades: A (80-100) indicates a highly reliable sponsor with competitive pay; F (0-34) indicates significant red flags for prospective applicants.

Data Collection Process

We download quarterly LCA disclosure data from the DOL, parse employer names and normalize them (handling variations like "Google LLC" vs. "Google Inc." vs. "Alphabet Inc."), and aggregate by employer to calculate approval rates, average wages, and sponsorship consistency metrics.

Update Frequency

DOL publishes updated disclosure data quarterly. We refresh our database within two weeks of each release. Historical data going back multiple years allows us to calculate trend-based metrics like volume consistency.

Known Limitations

  • LCA data reflects applications filed, not actual H1B visas granted. An approved LCA does not guarantee the worker received a visa (due to the H1B lottery and USCIS adjudication).
  • Some companies use staffing firms or consulting companies to file H1B petitions, so the employer of record may differ from the actual worksite employer.
  • Wage data reflects the offered wage at time of filing, not actual total compensation (which may include bonuses, equity, and benefits).
  • The Sponsorship Score is our own composite metric, not a DOL or USCIS designation.

How to Cite This Data

If you use data from H1BTracker, please cite:

H1BTracker. "[Company Name] H1B Sponsorship Data." h1bvisatracker.com, 2026. Accessed [date].

Underlying data is sourced from DOL Foreign Labor Certification disclosure files and is in the public domain.