1. Primary Data Sources
Transparency is the foundation of H1BIndex. We do not rely on crowdsourced salaries, anonymous internet surveys, or self-reported estimations. Every data point on our platform is anchored to verifiable federal disclosures.
Our primary sources include the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) under the United States Department of Labor (DOL), and petition adjudication data from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This encompasses Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) for the H-1B program and PERM applications for employment-based permanent residency.
2. The Ingestion & Standardization Pipeline
Raw government databases are notoriously disorganized. A single company might appear under dozens of variations (e.g., "Google LLC", "Google Inc.", "Google"). Our proprietary data engineering pipeline solves this fragmentation before any data reaches your dashboard.
- Entity Resolution: We utilize advanced clustering algorithms to merge fragmented employer names, law firms, and subsidiary filings into singular, accurate corporate master profiles.
- Anomaly Stripping: Clerical errors—such as an employer accidentally typing a yearly salary as an hourly wage—are algorithmically detected and stripped from our medians to prevent statistical skewing.
- SOC Code Mapping: We map thousands of unique internal job titles directly to the federal Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system, allowing for accurate, normalized comparisons across different companies.
3. The "H1BIndex Grade" Logic
The H1BIndex Grade (A+ through F) is our flagship metric. It is designed to give professionals an immediate, macro-level understanding of an employer's or geographic market's visa sponsorship health. While the exact weighting formula is proprietary, the algorithmic logic evaluates three primary pillars:
- Sponsorship Velocity: The sheer volume and historical consistency of LCAs filed by the entity. A consistent year-over-year filing record positively impacts the score.
- Adjudication Success: The historical ratio of approved petitions versus denials and withdrawals.
- Wage Competitiveness: How the entity's median offered salary compares against the national and localized prevailing wage benchmarks for that specific industry.
Important: The H1BIndex Grade is a statistical representation of historical public data. It is an algorithmic opinion, not a guarantee of future sponsorship success or corporate character.
4. Market Value & True Purchasing Power
Salary data is inherently localized. A $130,000 salary in San Francisco does not carry the same weight as a $130,000 salary in Austin, Texas. To provide actionable intelligence during salary negotiations, H1BIndex processes standard median wages through an economic adjustment layer.
Our True Purchasing Power metrics take the raw DOL median salaries and apply algorithmic reductions based on estimated state income tax brackets and localized Cost of Living (COL) indexes. This allows users to accurately compare the real-world value of offers across different state and metro dashboards.