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H-1B Visas in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley

H-1B sponsorship in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro. U.S. Department of Labor disclosure data shows 96,851 Labor Condition Applications filed by 10,621 distinct employers across the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metropolitan area. DOL certified those petitions at a 91% 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley 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 $427,766. 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro is Meta Platforms, Inc, anchoring a pool of 10,621 employers active in the area. Petition volume moved from 33,511 in FY2023 to 30,327 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.

96,851
Petitions
10,621
Employers
$427,766
Avg. Salary
91%
Certified

About San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley

The San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area has 96,851 H-1B LCA petitions filed by 10,621 employers, with a 91% certification rate and an average salary of $427,766. The top H-1B sponsor is Meta Platforms, Inc. The most common occupation is Software Developers.

Petition Volume by Year

H-1B LCA filings in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley from FY2023 to FY2025

FY2023 33,511 petitions · 89.9% certified · $228,197 avg
FY2024 28,425 petitions · 91% certified · $638,214 avg
FY2025 30,327 petitions · 92.3% certified · $446,125 avg

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

Annual Breakdown

Year Petitions Certified Cert Rate Avg Salary
FY2023 33,511 30,135 89.9% $228,197
FY2024 28,425 25,868 91% $638,214
FY2025 30,327 27,981 92.3% $446,125
FY2026(partial) 4,588 4,117 89.7% $464,115

Similar Metros

Metro areas with comparable H-1B petition volume to San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley

Compare top H-1B sponsors across metros →

Frequently Asked Questions

How many H-1B petitions have been filed in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley?

The San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area has 96,851 H-1B LCA petitions from 10,621 employers, with a 91% certification rate and an average salary of $427,766.

What is the average H-1B salary in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley?

The average H-1B salary in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley is $427,766. 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley?

Meta Platforms, Inc is the top H-1B sponsor in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area. The area has 10,621 total employers sponsoring H-1B workers.

What is the most common H-1B occupation in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley?

Software Developers is the most frequently sponsored H-1B occupation in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley. This reflects the demand for specialized workers in the metro area.

Are H-1B petitions growing in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley?

H-1B petition volume in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley has decreased from 33,511 in FY2023 to 30,327 in FY2025. Average salary moved from $228,197 to $446,125 over the same period.

How does San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley's H-1B market compare to other metros?

San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley has 96,851 H-1B petitions across 10,621 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.