H-1B Visas in Durham-Chapel Hill
H-1B sponsorship in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro. U.S. Department of Labor disclosure data shows 11,521 Labor Condition Applications filed by 1,200 distinct employers across the Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area. DOL certified those petitions at a 92.8% rate, confirming that prevailing-wage and working-conditions attestations passed the Labor Department’s preliminary review before USCIS handled final H-1B adjudication. That volume places Durham-Chapel Hill on the map as a measurable node in the national H-1B program, with its own distinct employer mix and occupation concentration.
Pay and occupation mix. The average offered wage on LCAs filed in the metro is $392,014. Because each LCA must meet or exceed the DOL prevailing wage for the specific occupation and worksite, that figure represents real pay commitments rather than voluntary market reporting. The most frequently sponsored role in the metro is Software Developers, which signals where employer demand for specialty-occupation talent is concentrated locally. Salary levels in a metro reflect the balance of wage levels (DOL Level I through IV) and the seniority tier of the roles employers are filling through the H-1B channel, so metro averages are a useful read on the sophistication of the local tech, healthcare, engineering, or finance workforce.
Who is sponsoring. The top H-1B sponsor in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro is Fidelity Technology Group, LLC, anchoring a pool of 1,200 employers active in the area. Petition volume moved from 3,959 in FY2023 to 3,470 in FY2025, a decreased trajectory that typically reflects shifts in local hiring, company growth, or program caps. Because DOL releases LCA disclosures as open public records, every figure here traces back to individual petitions filed with the Department of Labor, giving this metro snapshot the same auditability as a government-released dataset.
About Durham-Chapel Hill
The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area has 11,521 H-1B LCA petitions filed by 1,200 employers, with a 92.8% certification rate and an average salary of $392,014. The top H-1B sponsor is Fidelity Technology Group, LLC. The most common occupation is Software Developers.
Petition Volume by Year
H-1B LCA filings in Durham-Chapel Hill from FY2023 to FY2025
FY2026 is partial data (through Q1). Chart shows completed fiscal years only.
Annual Breakdown
| Year | Petitions | Certified | Cert Rate | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 3,959 | 3,655 | 92.3% | $111,205 |
| FY2024 | 3,518 | 3,294 | 93.6% | $630,955 |
| FY2025 | 3,470 | 3,207 | 92.4% | $514,829 |
| FY2026(partial) | 574 | 531 | 92.5% | $126,463 |
H-1B Guides
Learn more about the H-1B visa process and sponsorship
Step-by-step guide from LCA filing to work authorization
Highest-paying H-1B employers ranked by compensation
Understanding prevailing wage levels I through IV
Compare salaries by occupation, state, and wage level
Similar Metros
Metro areas with comparable H-1B petition volume to Durham-Chapel Hill
Frequently Asked Questions
How many H-1B petitions have been filed in Durham-Chapel Hill?
The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area has 11,521 H-1B LCA petitions from 1,200 employers, with a 92.8% certification rate and an average salary of $392,014.
What is the average H-1B salary in Durham-Chapel Hill?
The average H-1B salary in Durham-Chapel Hill is $392,014. This reflects prevailing wages that employers must meet or exceed when filing H-1B petitions for workers in this metro area.
Which company sponsors the most H-1B visas in Durham-Chapel Hill?
Fidelity Technology Group, LLC is the top H-1B sponsor in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area. The area has 1,200 total employers sponsoring H-1B workers.
What is the most common H-1B occupation in Durham-Chapel Hill?
Software Developers is the most frequently sponsored H-1B occupation in Durham-Chapel Hill. This reflects the demand for specialized workers in the metro area.
Are H-1B petitions growing in Durham-Chapel Hill?
H-1B petition volume in Durham-Chapel Hill has decreased from 3,959 in FY2023 to 3,470 in FY2025. Average salary moved from $111,205 to $514,829 over the same period.
How does Durham-Chapel Hill's H-1B market compare to other metros?
Durham-Chapel Hill has 11,521 H-1B petitions across 1,200 employers. View all metro areas on the PlainVisa metros page to compare petition volumes and salaries.
Data Sources
H-1B visa petition data is sourced from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Labor Condition Application (LCA) disclosure files. Data covers fiscal years 2023 through 2026. Salary figures reflect amounts listed on LCA petitions, not actual compensation paid.
Source: DOL Foreign Labor Performance Data
Source: U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) definitions
Read our methodology , how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Every figure on PlainVisa is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.