Tag Archives: l1

The Top 100 Companies That Sponsored US Visas

We mentioned in many posts how there is a list out there, sometimes difficult to find on the DOL (Department of Labor) site, but is freely available showing who are the companies that employed H-1B holders last year.

Of course this list is just as relevant to E-3 visa holders and even L-1 or J-1 Interns as they show the companies willing in large numbers to hire foreigners and more open to the sponsorship process.

There is do freely available list I am aware of for E-3 visas (they may for all I know lump into this list).

There is also no list for L-1 I am aware of and reportedly somewhere in the vicinity of 400,000 annually come on this visa in recent times. (there is no quota for L-1). However as this is an internal company transfer for multi-national companies that you have to be working at for at least 1 year, I am sure the companies you work for and apply to should be able to tell you more about transfer opportunities down the track to the US.

This list of course changes from year to year but the majority of companies you will see will consistently employ large numbers of foreigners and sponsor a lot of visas. Over the next few days we will reveal more of the list including tips for applying to the different types of companies on the list and the sectors they are in.

You will notice that this Top 100 is dominated, no unexpectedly, by companies in the IT sector. As that for many years has been where the shortage of US talent has been. Thus many people from India in the last decade especially have dominated the ranks of the H-1B visa approvals.

There are also a lot of academic institutions in this list as well which interesting because many of these organizations despite sponsoring a lot of visas will not have them counted in 65,000 quota!
This is of course great information for you when applying there as your chances improve greatly of securing your visa if offered a position so you are not competing against other applicants.

(to note many but not all non-profit, government and academic institutions do not have a quota binding them as the private instituitions do with 65,000 (+20,000 ADE) quota.

This is exactly what I was talking about when denouncing sites like H1Base as worthless and bordering on SCAM sites as they will send you this same list as part of their package as a major item. The only difference between them and me is they will charge you hundreds of dollars for it.

The full list actually contains close to 25,000 companies for last year so there are plenty of options just from the current batch of visa hiring pool from last year. However as mentioned in my recent guest author post about H-1 Visa Quota Predictions and the necessity to get your application in on April 1.

Ok without further delay here are the Top 100 US Visa Sponsoring Organizations from last year.

COMPANY No. of Visas
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED 4,559
WIPRO LIMITED 2,678
SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES LIMITED 1,917
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED 1,539
MICROSOFT CORP 1,037
ACCENTURE LLP 731
COGNIZANT TECH SOLUTIONS US CORP 467
CISCO SYSTEMS INC 422
LARSEN & TOUBRO INFOTECH LIMITED 403
IBM INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED 381
INTEL CORP 351
ERNST & YOUNG LLP 321
PATNI AMERICAS INC 296
TERRA INFOTECH INC 281
QUALCOMM INCORPORATED 255
MPHASIS CORPORATION 251
KPMG LLP 245
PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHS 239
BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCH SYSTEM 229
DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP 218
GOLDMAN SACHS & CO 211
EVEREST BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INC 208
VERINON TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LTD 208
GOOGLE INC 207
EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYS 205
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP 195
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND 191
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 186
UNIV OF MICHIGAN 183
MARLABS INC 177
ORACLE USA INC 168
UNIV OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO 168
ALLIED SOLUTIONS GROUP INC 166
RITE AID CORPORATION 161
V-SOFT CONSULTING GROUP INC 161
CUMMINS INC 159
THE JOHNS HOPKINS MED INSTS OIS 157
VEDICSOFT SOLUTIONS INC 156
UNIV OF WISCONSIN MADISON 151
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 150
I-FLEX SOLUTIONS INC 148
CLERYSYS INC 147
YALE UNIVERSITY 145
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 143
STATE UNIV OF NY AT STONY BROOK 143
DIS NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 141
YAHOO INC 139
STANFORD UNIV 138
CDC GLOBAL SERVICES INC 135
GLOBAL CONSULTANTS INC 131
LEHMAN BROTHERS INC 130
THE OHIO STATE UNIV 128
UNIV OF MINNESOTA 128
MORGAN STANLEY & CO INC 125
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED 123
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH 122
MCKINSEY & COMPANY INC US 121
MERRILL LYNCH & CO INC 121
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS 121
MGL AMERICAS INC 120
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 120
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 119
LOVELACE RESPIRATORY RESEARCH INST 118
DIASPARK INC 117
INFOVISION TECHNOLOGIES INC 114
UNIV OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 114
EVEREST CONSULTING GROUP INC 113
INDIANA UNIV PURDUE UNIV INDIANAPO 113
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY 113
ITECH US INC 112
MOTOROLA INC 112
XPEDITE TECHNOLOGIES INC 112
DIBON SOLUTIONS INC 111
ZYLOG SYSTEMS LTD DBA ZSL INC 111
NYC HHC HARLEM HOSPITAL CTR 110
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL 109
VISION SYSTEMS GROUP INC 107
DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 105
IBM CORPORATION 104
NORTHWESTERN UNIV 104
UNIV OF WASHINGTON 104
DUKE UNIV UNIV MED CTR & AFFIL INS 103
MULTIVISION INC 100
COSMOS FDN INC DBA HARMONY SCIENCE 99
WASHINGTON UNIV IN ST LOUIS 99
AMAZON GLOBAL RESOURCES INC 98
FLORIDA HOSPITAL 98
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP 98
UST GLOBAL INC 98
UT SOUTHWESTERN MED CTR AT DALLAS 97
NEW YORK CITY DEPT OF EDUCATION 96
UNIV OF CA SAN FRANCISCO 95
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO 95
UNIVERSITY OF NC AT CHAPEL HILL 95
CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION 94
CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC 93
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECH 93
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 93
UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER 93

I hope this initial list is of benefit to you all and look forward to more of this list in the days to come 🙂

CJ



Do I Need A Lawyer for my H1B Visa Process?

I mentioned in an earlier post how cost is one of the first questions most people ask in relation to obtaining their US Visa. Well a close second, and usually a subsequent question to the cost one is whether you need a lawyer/attorney for the process.

This is a very interesting question that I have addressed in part in other posts dealing with costs and procedure but will talk about it specifically here.

The H1B Visa;

Ok the truth is I know of no person that did this successfully without the help of the lawyer. And I know a lot of people on H1B visas from all walks of life! I am not saying that it can’t be done but the odds as they stand are completely stacked against you and really completely in favor of the Immigration Attorneys. They more than likely have a powerful lobby in Washington that likes the process as it is as it means more money and billable hours for them!

The reason why the process is stacked against the foreign applicant is as follows;

– In about 2003, when Congress reduced the cap of H1B visas annually from abotu 190,000 to the current 65,000 (plus 20,000 for US Masters Degree holders), it has meant a major shortage of visas compare to applicants

– There are many large corporations particularly in recent years in the IT and Biomedical industries that desperately need foregin talent due to shortage here (people like Bill Gates have called for 500,000 H1B visas annually) and they because of their budgets, size and need will use lawyers to ensure their candidates have the best chance as well as paying the premium filing fee

– The premium filing fee itself is an optional fee of $1,000 which you can pay so your lawyer has phone contact access to your the case officer assessing your application. This a great expense to pay yourself as an optional fee and I have yet to hear (but I could be wrong) of the Immigration officers talking to anyone other than lawyers

– The H1B process itself is very annoyingly complex with its April 1 opening for annual applications, multi level fee system process, lottery system and other conditions imposed around the whole process making it great for lawyers to exploit. Thus meaning if you don’t have a lawyer you are at a severe disadvantage.

Look I would hope if you are in the H1B process, you have an awesome company whom is paying all the legal costs on your behalf as they really value your employment. However if it is you whom are going to have to foot the bill albeit initially or to pay your company back, then do your research and get recommendations and try and find a fixed retainer if you can.

I do have the names of one immigration law firmwho were fine, professional and friendly during my process but as was all paid for on my behalf by the company have no idea what their fee structure is like. If you want their names drop me a comment or note with your email and I can send their names along.

Other Visas

Each visa presents it own unique challenges but if you are applying for the J1, F1 or M1 visas, I would say you don’t need a lawyer. The H2B visa I would also try an avoid the need for legal representation given you can be sponsored by 3rd party organizations.

If you are applying for the K visas relating to fiancees or spouses, it may be a good idea to get one if you can see there may be complications with your case. I think it’s safe to say in most cases that you would be aware if that circumstance relates to you. This is probably a visa where you definitely want the correct outcome.

The L1 I would assume since your company is multi national and you are doing an intra-company transfer they would have lawyers for the process.

I hope this helps to answer tricky questions you may have….

CJ