H-1B Transfer Data 2026
Employers filed 289,369 certified H-1B change-of-employer petitions (FY2021–2026), 17.5% of all filings where DOL recorded whether the petition was a transfer. Median offered wage on a transfer is $128K/year. Transfers are exempt from the annual cap and the lottery.
H-1B Transfers by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | Certified Transfers | Share of Filings |
|---|---|---|
| FY2022 | 40,378 | 18.6% |
| FY2023 | 45,316 | 22.1% |
| FY2024 | 99,897 | 16.8% |
| FY2025 | 81,929 | 15.7% |
| FY2026 | 21,849 | 19.5% |
FY2026 is a partial year, DOL publishes quarterly, so it is not directly comparable to the full years above.
Top H-1B Transfer Sponsors
Ranked by certified transfer volume. Share is that employer's own transfer rate, a high share means the company routinely hires people already on an H-1B rather than filing fresh cap cases.
Top 30 of 271 employers with at least 100 certified transfers, each has a full transfer profile.
H-1B Transfers by State
| State | Certified Transfers | Share of Filings | Median Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 59,179 | 19.2% | $167K |
| Texas | 49,230 | 20% | $117K |
| New York | 20,820 | 15.5% | $145K |
| Washington | 20,233 | 19.5% | $160K |
| New Jersey | 15,537 | 17.9% | $124K |
| North Carolina | 11,829 | 19.1% | $120K |
| Georgia | 11,541 | 18% | $118K |
| Illinois | 10,918 | 15.5% | $115K |
| Massachusetts | 9,351 | 15.6% | $130K |
| Florida | 8,486 | 15.9% | $115K |
| Michigan | 8,048 | 19.2% | $110K |
| Virginia | 7,456 | 16.8% | $120K |
| Pennsylvania | 7,113 | 16% | $112K |
| Ohio | 5,648 | 16.5% | $110K |
| Arizona | 5,327 | 18.6% | $115K |
| Tennessee | 3,186 | 16.8% | $110K |
| Maryland | 3,036 | 15.1% | $119K |
| Colorado | 2,793 | 15.8% | $119K |
| Minnesota | 2,667 | 13.9% | $111K |
| Missouri | 2,627 | 15.3% | $104K |
| Connecticut | 2,583 | 14.2% | $120K |
| Indiana | 2,261 | 14.4% | $105K |
| Arkansas | 1,907 | 18.2% | $118K |
| Wisconsin | 1,635 | 13.6% | $110K |
| Oregon | 1,577 | 11.4% | $130K |
| South Carolina | 1,469 | 16.1% | $110K |
| Delaware | 1,356 | 17.3% | $121K |
| Utah | 1,238 | 13.2% | $115K |
| Kentucky | 1,054 | 15.5% | $105K |
| Kansas | 963 | 15% | $97K |
| Washington DC | 920 | 11.8% | $120K |
| Nevada | 888 | 17.8% | $115K |
| Iowa | 843 | 12.6% | $105K |
| New Hampshire | 795 | 19% | $120K |
| Nebraska | 720 | 14.5% | $105K |
| Rhode Island | 705 | 17.2% | $115K |
| Alabama | 542 | 11.5% | $98K |
| Oklahoma | 484 | 11.6% | $94K |
| Louisiana | 439 | 9.6% | $100K |
| Idaho | 340 | 13.8% | $115K |
Most Common Occupations on H-1B Transfers
| Occupation | Certified Transfers | Median Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 95,729 | $133K |
| Software Developers, Applications | 13,673 | $133K |
| Computer Systems Engineers/Architects | 12,519 | $124K |
| Information Technology Project Managers | 11,014 | $135K |
| Data Scientists | 9,553 | $144K |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 8,723 | $109K |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 7,835 | $110K |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 7,155 | $195K |
| Business Intelligence Analysts | 6,769 | $126K |
| Computer Programmers | 6,546 | $99K |
| Mechanical Engineers | 5,134 | $110K |
| Accountants and Auditors | 4,466 | $85K |
| Operations Research Analysts | 4,266 | $130K |
| Electrical Engineers | 3,820 | $130K |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | 3,614 | $157K |
What Counts as an H-1B Transfer
An H-1B "transfer" is a new employer filing an H-1B petition for someone already holding H-1B status. On the underlying Labor Condition Application, DOL records it as a change of employer, that flag is what these figures count.
Transfers are not subject to the annual H-1B cap or the lottery, which is why they can be filed at any point in the year. Under H-1B portability you can generally begin work once USCIS receives the petition, rather than waiting for approval.
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H1B Visa Jobs Research Team
Counted from US Department of Labor LCA disclosure files (FY2021–2026), filtered to certified petitions with annual wages between $30K and $1M, using DOL's change-of-employer flag. Transfer share is measured against filings where DOL actually recorded that field, older disclosure schema generations omit it, and including those would understate every share shown here. A certified LCA is a step toward an H-1B petition, not an approved transfer.