Immigration Glossary & FAQ

1. The Federal Glossary

Immigration law is a nightmare of acronyms. If you want to understand how to negotiate your salary or choose the right employer, you need to speak their language. Here are the core terms you will see across H1BIndex:

This is the foundational document an employer must file with the Department of Labor (DOL) before they can hire you on an H-1B visa. The LCA proves to the government that the company is paying you a fair wage and not undercutting local U.S. workers. When we show "Visa Volume" on H1BIndex, we are counting approved LCAs.

The absolute minimum legal salary an employer is allowed to pay an H-1B worker for a specific job in a specific city. It is calculated by the government. If a company tries to pay you less than the Prevailing Wage, the LCA will be denied.

A federal tracking code. Companies use hundreds of fancy job titles ("Code Ninja", "Tech Evangelist"), but the government forces them to map those titles to standardized SOC Codes (e.g., 15-1252.00 - Software Developers). This allows us to accurately compare salaries across completely different companies.

The crucial first step in the Green Card (permanent residency) sponsorship process. An employer files a PERM to prove there are no qualified U.S. workers available for your specific job. A company with high H-1B volume but zero PERM filings is a massive red flag—it means they hire foreign labor but refuse to sponsor them for permanent residency.

The highest single base salary officially reported by an employer for a specific job title in a given year. It represents the absolute top-end of their negotiation budget.

The government splits every job into four experience tiers to determine the prevailing wage. Level I is Entry-Level. Level II is Qualified. Level III is Experienced. Level IV is Fully Competent (Senior/Lead). If an employer sponsors you as a "Senior Developer" but files the LCA under Level I to pay you less, they are exploiting the system.

The formal legal process where a federal officer reviews an application and makes a final decision. Applications are generally marked as Certified (Approved), Denied, or Withdrawn.

2. Data & Salary FAQs

Why is the median salary here different than what I see on Glassdoor or Levels.fyi?

This is the most common question we get. Sites like Glassdoor and Levels.fyi rely on self-reported data. Users anonymously type in their salaries, which often include stock options (RSUs), sign-on bonuses, and yearly bonuses. This inflates the total compensation (TC) number.

H1BIndex displays federal, legally binding data. The numbers you see here are the exact Base Salaries submitted under penalty of perjury to the U.S. government. The Department of Labor does not allow employers to include bonuses or stock in LCA filings. Therefore, our data is the absolute truth of what a company guarantees in pure cash.

Can I use this data to negotiate my salary?

Absolutely. In fact, you should. Because our data is federally verified, an HR department cannot claim our numbers are "inaccurate internet rumors." If H1BIndex shows that the median base salary for a Level III Developer at your target company is $145,000, and they offer you $120,000, you have undeniable proof that they are lowballing you compared to your foreign-born peers.

How often is the H1BIndex database updated?

The Department of Labor releases bulk public disclosure data on a quarterly basis (following the federal fiscal calendar: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4). We immediately ingest, clean, and map this data into our system within days of its federal publication, ensuring our benchmarks are always current.

Are these salaries for remote workers or localized?

Federally filed salaries are strictly tied to the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) where the work is performed. If an employee works remotely from Austin for a company headquartered in San Francisco, the prevailing wage and salary reported on the LCA will reflect the Austin labor market, not San Francisco.

Why do some job titles sound so generic, like "Software Developer, Applications"?

Because the government hates startup jargon. If an employer tries to hire a "Full-Stack Data Ninja," the federal government forces them to map that job to a standardized SOC Code title. This is actually beneficial to you—it strips away the marketing fluff and lets you see exactly what that role pays across the entire industry.

3. Sponsorship & Employer FAQs

Does a high "H1BIndex Grade" guarantee I will get sponsored?

No. The H1BIndex Grade is an algorithmic evaluation of an employer's historical behavior. An "A+" grade means the company has a massive history of successful filings, high approval rates, and highly competitive salaries. It means they have the legal infrastructure to support you. However, it does not bypass the H-1B lottery system, nor does it guarantee the company has current open headcount.

What does it mean if a company has a 0% PERM Conversion Rate?

It usually means one of two things. First, it could mean the company operates a predatory staffing model where they exploit temporary H-1B labor but refuse to spend the money to sponsor employees for permanent Green Cards. Second, they may file their PERM applications under a completely different corporate subsidiary name. Always ask a recruiter directly about their Green Card timeline before accepting an offer.

I see my company listed, but the numbers look wrong or too low. Why?

Corporate structures are incredibly complex. Massive tech companies often absorb subsidiaries through mergers and acquisitions, but continue to file LCAs under the old subsidiary names. Alternatively, they may outsource specific IT roles to third-party consultancies. The data you see is exactly what the entity legally filed under that specific Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN).

Why do some companies have thousands of LCAs but very few actual employees?

This is a hallmark of the IT Consulting and Staffing industry. By law, if a consultancy moves an H-1B worker from a client site in Dallas to a new client site in Chicago, they must file a brand new LCA for that new location. Therefore, a consultancy with 500 employees might generate 2,000 LCAs in a single year due to constant relocations.

What is the difference between an Employer and an End-Client?

The Employer is the company that signs your paychecks and sponsors your visa. The End-Client is the company whose office you actually sit in and do the work for. For example, if you work for a staffing firm (Employer) but are contracted out to build software for a major bank (End-Client), the staffing firm holds the visa liability.