Employment-based immigrationH-1B and Green Card Sponsorship in 2026: Which U.S. Employers and Jobs Actually Sponsor Foreign Workers?

How to Find a U.S. Employer With a Real Sponsorship History

A job posting that says “visa sponsorship available” does not tell you whether the employer regularly files H-1B petitions, supports employment-based permanent residence, starts PERM cases for employees in your occupation, or limits immigration sponsorship to particular roles, locations or seniority levels.

Public U.S. government data can make the search more precise. The Department of Labor's FY2026 third-quarter disclosure data covers activity through June 30, 2026 and includes Labor Condition Application, permanent labor certification and prevailing wage records. USCIS separately publishes H-1B petition data through its H-1B Employer Data Hub.

For a professional whose goal is long-term employment in the United States, the best employer is not automatically the company with the largest number of filings. A more useful target is an employer with recent activity involving your occupation, a relevant work location and an immigration policy that matches your intended path.

H-1B Sponsorship Is Not the Same as Green Card Sponsorship

“Visa sponsorship” is convenient everyday language, but several legally distinct processes sit behind it.

In a typical H-1B specialty occupation case, the employer first files a Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor. After DOL certification, the employer generally files Form I-129 with USCIS. USCIS, not DOL, adjudicates the H-1B petition.

A conventional employer-sponsored permanent residence case under EB-2 or EB-3 often follows a different route. For a standard PERM case, the employer identifies a permanent full-time job opportunity, obtains a prevailing wage determination, conducts the required recruitment and notice procedures, and files the permanent labor certification application with DOL. If DOL certifies the case, the employer can generally proceed to Form I-140 with USCIS.

PERM is not required in every employment-based immigrant classification. EB-1 classifications do not require permanent labor certification. For an EB-2 National Interest Waiver, the beneficiary must first qualify for the underlying EB-2 classification as an advanced degree professional or a person of exceptional ability. USCIS may then waive the job-offer and labor-certification requirements if the NIW standard is satisfied.

Employers With Substantial FY2026 LCA Activity

DOL's FY2026 Q3 LCA report shows 830,710 positions certified through June 30, 2026. The report combines the H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 temporary specialty occupation programs. The numbers below therefore represent certified positions reported in LCA data, not H-1B visas issued and not necessarily unique workers.

The legal entity matters. A familiar corporate brand can operate through multiple employing entities, and DOL aggregates employer data by unique Federal Employer Identification Number. Goldman Sachs, for example, appears through several entities in the FY2026 Q3 table.

Filing volume also needs occupational context. Software developers accounted for 241,846 certified positions, or 29.1% of certified FY2026 LCA positions through Q3. Electronics engineers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, data scientists, IT project managers and software quality assurance analysts also appeared among the leading occupations.

Official DOL source: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/FY26Q3/LCA_Selected_Statistics_FY2026_Q3.pdf

Where Permanent-Residence Sponsorship Is Concentrated

DOL reported 104,028 certified PERM applications in FY2026 through June 30, 2026. These are applications certified during the reporting period. They are not a count of Green Cards issued and should not be interpreted as applications necessarily filed during the same months.

Occupations with substantial certified PERM activity

The data is broader than the common perception that employment-based sponsorship is mainly a technology issue. Technology remains prominent, but certified applications also appear in manufacturing, food production, healthcare-related occupations, accounting and operational roles.

Industries with substantial PERM certifications

Geography matters as well. California accounted for 17,821 certified applications in the FY2026 Q3 report, followed by Texas with 10,604 and New York with 7,515. A company's history in one state should not automatically be treated as evidence that the same immigration strategy works identically for a different worksite.

Official DOL source: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/FY26Q3/PERM_Selected_Statistics_FY2026_Q3.pdf

Employers with substantial PERM prevailing wage activity

Prevailing wage records provide a useful earlier-stage signal. They show that an employer requested a DOL wage determination for a permanent job opportunity, although they do not establish that the employer later completed a standard PERM case or obtained permanent residence for a beneficiary.

Official DOL source: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/FY26Q3/PW_Selected%20Statistics_FY2026_Q3.pdf

Healthcare Sponsorship and Schedule A: An Important Exception

Healthcare deserves separate treatment because a high volume of prevailing wage activity does not always lead into the ordinary PERM recruitment process.

DOL reported 10,022 PERM-program prevailing wage determinations for Registered Nurses through FY2026 Q3. Professional nurses and physical therapists, however, are included in Schedule A, Group I.

USCIS Schedule A guidance: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-e-chapter-7

How to Verify Whether a Company Really Sponsors Workers in Your Occupation

Employer-level filing totals are a starting point, not the final answer. The goal is to determine whether the company's immigration history resembles the job you are considering.

USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub: https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-and-studies/h-1b-employer-data-hub

What to Ask When an Employer Says “We Sponsor”

A general statement about sponsorship should be converted into specific answers about the position you are considering.

These questions are especially important when your long-term objective is permanent residence. A company may have extensive H-1B experience but impose a waiting period for PERM, restrict permanent sponsorship to certain positions or use a different immigration strategy for particular occupations.

From an Employer's “Yes” to the Right Immigration Strategy

Once an employer confirms sponsorship, the analysis becomes case-specific. The actual job duties, minimum requirements, worker's education and experience, worksite, immigration history and timing determine which options are realistic.

For a broader review of employer-sponsored options, see https://arvian-immigration.com/employment-based-immigration-work-visa/ . Employers can also review https://arvian-immigration.com/the-employers-role-in-the-work-visa-process/ .

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