Microsoft H-1B Visa Sponsorship 2026
Big tech & cloud · H-1B sponsor · FY2017–2026
🏢 Redmond, WA HQ🌐 microsoft.com
Does Microsoft sponsor H-1B visas and green cards?
Yes. Microsoft has filed 75,263 H-1B LCAs and 24,358 PERM green-card cases with the U.S. Department of Labor between FY2017 and FY2026. In FY2025–2026 Microsoft filed 14,461 H-1B LCAs at a median base salary of $172,651, about 42% above the national H-1B median of $121,966 for the same period, and 4,846 green-card cases were decided.
H-1B pay & filings by year
Median base salary (line) and H-1B filing volume (bars), by fiscal year
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | H-1B LCA filings | Median base salary |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 (partial) | 5,159 | $177k |
| FY2025 | 9,302 | $170k |
| FY2024 | 9,492 | $162k |
| FY2023 | 7,819 | $164k |
| FY2022 | 11,547 | $149k |
| FY2021 | 7,329 | $143k |
| FY2020 | 8,004 | $143k |
| FY2019 | 6,042 | $139k |
| FY2018 | 5,556 | $136k |
| FY2017 | 5,013 | $130k |
A fiscal year marked partial is still in progress, so its total is lower than a complete year and the two are not comparable.
H-1B wage floor & filing outcomes
What this employer pays against the DOL legal minimum, how senior the roles are, and how the filings were decided
Roles they file for
Where they hire
Green-card (PERM) pay & filings by year
Median green-card offer (line) and PERM filing volume (bars), by fiscal year †
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | PERM filings | Median base salary |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 (partial) | 1,686 | $143k |
| FY2025 | 3,160 | $146k |
| FY2024 | 1,704 | $146k |
| FY2023 | 2,549 | $135k |
| FY2022 | 2,677 | $133k |
| FY2021 | 4,693 | $131k |
| FY2020 | 2,320 | $129k |
| FY2019 | 1,277 | $128k |
| FY2018 | 2,301 | $124k |
| FY2017 | 1,991 | $121k |
Green-card route and outcomes
Worker backgrounds · FY2017–2024
Where their green-card (PERM) workers studied & came from
Patents
- Granted
- 57,303
- US patents
- Published, not yet granted
- 57,675
- applications
- Most recent grant
- April 7, 2026
- Top area
- Electric digital data processing26,725
Pay against the local market
Microsoft’s 10 most-filed occupations and metros. Its median base salary is 111% of the local BLS median for the same work.
| Occupation | Metro | Filings | Microsoft pay | Local BLS median‡ | vs market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | Seattle, WA | 39,635 | $152,526 | $150,710 | 101% |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | Seattle, WA | 4,632 | $156,590 | $125,506 | 125% |
| Software Developers | San Francisco, CA | 2,675 | $181,394 | $166,143 | 109% |
| Data Scientists | Seattle, WA | 2,419 | $169,300 | $151,606 | 112% |
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | Seattle, WA | 2,030 | $146,762 | $161,368 | 91% |
| Software Developers | Atlanta, GA | 1,659 | $128,477 | $126,283 | 102% |
| Management Analysts | Seattle, WA | 1,251 | $145,967 | $110,819 | 132% |
| Software Developers | San Jose, CA | 1,219 | $167,775 | $165,066 | 102% |
| Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | Seattle, WA | 1,061 | $144,364 | $91,829 | 157% |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | Dallas, TX | 969 | $125,225 | $104,952 | 119% |
About Microsoft
Microsoft builds Windows, Office, the Azure cloud, GitHub, and the Copilot AI products, and is a major backer of OpenAI. It is consistently one of the very largest H-1B sponsors.
- Name (DOL filings)
- Microsoft
- Listed
- Nasdaq: MSFT
- Incorporated in
- Washington
- Headquarters
- One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399
- Industry
- Big tech & cloud
- Employees (global)
- 223,000 (2026)
- Revenue FY2026
- $331.8B +18% from $281.7B
- Net income FY2026
- $133.7B +31% from $101.8B
- R&D FY2026
- $35.6B (11% of revenue)
Files 1 green-card application for every 3 H-1B filings, where a typical sponsor its size does 1 in 6.5.
Microsoft pays a median H-1B base of $151,858 across FY2017–2026, about 50% above the typical Big tech & cloud sponsor.
H-1B sponsors similar to Microsoft
| Employer | Filings, all years | Recent filings | Median base | New employment | Level III-IV roles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 161,385 | 43,764 | $156k | 14,543 | 29% |
| 88,568 | 16,436 | $187k | 8,345 | 39% | |
| Microsoft | 75,263 | 14,461 | $173k | 2,626 | 53% |
| Meta | 46,756 | 11,918 | $208k | 3,953 | 61% |
| Apple | 37,897 | 12,071 | $173k | 3,120 | 77% |
| Intel | 27,321 | 4,574 | $131k | 2,219 | 64% |
| Salesforce | 19,220 | 3,529 | $199k | 542 | 75% |
