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H-1B Visas in Raleigh-Cary

H-1B sponsorship in the Raleigh-Cary metro. U.S. Department of Labor disclosure data shows 20,654 Labor Condition Applications filed by 3,500 distinct employers across the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area. DOL certified those petitions at a 92.5% 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 Raleigh-Cary 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 $205,363. 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 Raleigh-Cary metro is COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS US CORP, anchoring a pool of 3,500 employers active in the area. Petition volume moved from 6,955 in FY2023 to 6,467 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.

20,654
Petitions
3,500
Employers
$205,363
Avg. Salary
92.5%
Certified

About Raleigh-Cary

The Raleigh-Cary metro area has 20,654 H-1B LCA petitions filed by 3,500 employers, with a 92.5% certification rate and an average salary of $205,363. The top H-1B sponsor is COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS US CORP. The most common occupation is Software Developers.

Petition Volume by Year

H-1B LCA filings in Raleigh-Cary from FY2023 to FY2025

FY2023 6,955 petitions · 91.8% certified · $111,691 avg
FY2024 6,262 petitions · 91.5% certified · $320,098 avg
FY2025 6,467 petitions · 94.2% certified · $206,968 avg

FY2026 is partial data (through Q1). Chart shows completed fiscal years only.

Annual Breakdown

Year Petitions Certified Cert Rate Avg Salary
FY2023 6,955 6,386 91.8% $111,691
FY2024 6,262 5,727 91.5% $320,098
FY2025 6,467 6,095 94.2% $206,968
FY2026(partial) 970 893 92.1% $126,854

Similar Metros

Metro areas with comparable H-1B petition volume to Raleigh-Cary

Compare top H-1B sponsors across metros →

Frequently Asked Questions

How many H-1B petitions have been filed in Raleigh-Cary?

The Raleigh-Cary metro area has 20,654 H-1B LCA petitions from 3,500 employers, with a 92.5% certification rate and an average salary of $205,363.

What is the average H-1B salary in Raleigh-Cary?

The average H-1B salary in Raleigh-Cary is $205,363. 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 Raleigh-Cary?

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS US CORP is the top H-1B sponsor in the Raleigh-Cary metro area. The area has 3,500 total employers sponsoring H-1B workers.

What is the most common H-1B occupation in Raleigh-Cary?

Software Developers is the most frequently sponsored H-1B occupation in Raleigh-Cary. This reflects the demand for specialized workers in the metro area.

Are H-1B petitions growing in Raleigh-Cary?

H-1B petition volume in Raleigh-Cary has decreased from 6,955 in FY2023 to 6,467 in FY2025. Average salary moved from $111,691 to $206,968 over the same period.

How does Raleigh-Cary's H-1B market compare to other metros?

Raleigh-Cary has 20,654 H-1B petitions across 3,500 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

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.