Upgrade H-1B Visa Sponsorship 2026
Fintech & payroll software · H-1B sponsor · FY2017–2026
🏢 San Francisco, CA HQ🌐 upgrade.com
Does Upgrade sponsor H-1B visas and green cards?
Yes. Upgrade has filed 229 H-1B LCAs and 71 PERM green-card cases with the U.S. Department of Labor between FY2017 and FY2026. In FY2025–2026 Upgrade filed 83 H-1B LCAs at a median base salary of $150,405, about 23% above the national H-1B median of $121,966 for the same period, and 36 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) | 33 | $155k |
| FY2025 | 50 | $147k |
| FY2024 | 30 | $158k |
| FY2023 | 30 | $150k |
| FY2022 | 25 | $143k |
| FY2021 | 22 | $145k |
| FY2020 | 11 | $140k |
| FY2019 | 9 | $148k |
| FY2018 | 9 | $120k |
| FY2017 | 10 | $137k |
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) | 13 | $180k |
| FY2025 | 23 | $155k |
| FY2024 | 7 | $160k |
| FY2023 | 6 | $173k |
| FY2022 | 4 | $136k |
| FY2021 | 2 | $130k |
| FY2020 | 2 | $115k |
| FY2019 | 3 | $165k |
| FY2018 | 10 | $160k |
| FY2017 | 1 | $180k |
Green-card route and outcomes
Worker backgrounds · FY2017–2024
Where their green-card (PERM) workers studied & came from
Pay against the local market
Upgrade’s 10 most-filed occupations and metros. Its median base salary is 110% of the local BLS median for the same work.
| Occupation | Metro | Filings | Upgrade pay | Local BLS median‡ | vs market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | San Francisco, CA | 45 | $158,236 | $153,185 | 103% |
| Credit Analysts | San Francisco, CA | 22 | $123,211 | $120,455 | 102% |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | San Francisco, CA | 19 | $155,712 | $139,404 | 112% |
| Data Scientists | San Francisco, CA | 16 | $165,808 | $165,762 | 100% |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | San Francisco, CA | 13 | $156,954 | $137,753 | 114% |
| Data Scientists | Phoenix, AZ | 8 | $101,710 | $109,298 | 93% |
| Financial and Investment Analysts | San Francisco, CA | 5 | $150,638 | $121,218 | 124% |
| Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | San Francisco, CA | 5 | $134,626 | $123,546 | 109% |
| Information Security Analysts | San Francisco, CA | 5 | $168,264 | $153,380 | 110% |
| Operations Research Analysts | San Francisco, CA | 4 | $120,235 | $106,000 | 113% |
About Upgrade
Upgrade is a fintech & payroll software company based in San Francisco, CA. It was founded in 2014.
- Name (DOL filings)
- Upgrade, Inc.
- Listed
- Private
- Sponsoring since
- FY2017 or earlier
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, United States
- Industry
- Fintech & payroll software
- Employees (US, est)
- 1,537 (2024)
- H-1B filings
- 229
- Median base
- $145,205
- Founded
- 2014
Upgrade pays a median H-1B base of $145,205 across FY2017–2026, about 19% above the typical Fintech & payroll software sponsor.
Files 1 green-card application for every 3 H-1B filings, where a typical sponsor its size does 1 in 6.5.
H-1B sponsors similar to Upgrade
| Employer | Filings, all years | Recent filings | Median base | New employment | Level III-IV roles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rippling | 465 | 182 | $231k | 64 | 83% |
| Early Warning Services | 457 | 87 | $144k | 5 | 88% |
| UKG | 451 | 67 | $153k | 8 | 80% |
| Upgrade | 229 | 83 | $150k | 24 | 77% |
| Deel | 212 | 129 | $140k | 50 | 50% |
| Purpose Financial | 193 | 62 | $97k | 35 | 32% |
| LoanDepot | 186 | 28 | $151k | 1 | — |
