Recently we have tried to educate foreigners seeking work and permanent residency in the US as well as locals about the statistics surrounding Immigration including top visa sponsor company salaries, green card statistics, companies that sponsor green cards, locations in the US where foreigners are working, etc.
Today we want to look at the average salaries in 2013 for the various jobs certified by the Department of Labour via the ETA-9035e form. This is the form used mainly for the E-3 Visa, H-1B Visa, L-1 Visa and O-1 visa.
Below is the average salaries for the various professions around the US for foreigners. These LCA’s are for new, renewal, transfer and cap exempt visas. Typically about 3x as many LCAs are issued by the Department of Labor than visas issued. As you can see these are dominated by IT professions at the top where there is so much demand for foreign talent. Finance and Marketing are also in high demand as well reflecting where employers are finding it easier to find qualified foreign talent relative to the US local candidate supply.
These profession categories can be very broad and crossover with others in terms of job type and level. Ultimately it can provide a great directional idea about what jobs are available in the US for foreigners where employers are willing to sponsor and what the general salary level could be. It also should be noted that the salary levels for the same job will vary wildly depending on your location with places like New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area recording higher levels.
| Occupation | LCAs Certified | Avg. Salary |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 67,443 | $74,078 |
| Computer Programmers | 53,266 | $65,792 |
| Software Developers, Applications | 47,901 | $91,715 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | 22,088 | $73,711 |
| Software Developers, Systems Software | 12,182 | $100,581 |
| Management Analysts | 9,483 | $85,290 |
| Accountants and Auditors | 9,087 | $61,348 |
| Financial Analysts | 8,503 | $94,609 |
| Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 6,909 | $58,207 |
| Mechanical Engineers | 6,549 | $76,987 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators* | 6,258 | $72,580 |
| Electrical Engineers | 5,511 | $86,407 |
| Physicians and Surgeons, All Other | 5,370 | $136,316 |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | 5,090 | $94,563 |
| Database Administrators | 4,883 | $74,455 |
| Operations Research Analysts | 4,780 | $85,060 |
| Physical Therapists | 4,247 | $66,745 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 4,246 | $121,560 |
| Biochemists and Biophysicists | 4,120 | $53,850 |
| Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | 4,066 | $59,481 |
| Industrial Engineers | 3,459 | $80,324 |
| Civil Engineers | 2,682 | $74,164 |
| Marketing Managers | 2,666 | $116,571 |
| Biological Scientists, All Other | 2,447 | $53,445 |
| Internists, General | 2,336 | $180,020 |
| Computer Software Engineers, Applications | 2,233 | $93,304 |
| Chemists | 2,148 | $61,326 |
| Graphic Designers | 2,125 | $54,147 |
| Business Operations Specialists, All Other* | 2,061 | $58,038 |
| Statisticians | 2,042 | $81,602 |
| Financial Managers | 2,039 | $133,916 |
| General and Operations Managers | 2,032 | $116,293 |
| Pharmacists | 1,955 | $115,519 |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Care | 1,709 | $47,634 |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Educati | 1,686 | $46,549 |
| Information Security Analysts, Web Developers, and | 1,537 | $74,136 |
| Sales Engineers | 1,502 | $93,632 |
| Managers, All Other | 1,469 | $101,356 |
| Biological Technicians | 1,441 | $39,394 |
| Chemical Engineers | 1,435 | $87,313 |
| Commercial and Industrial Designers | 1,391 | $59,219 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | 1,345 | $133,936 |
| Engineers, All Other | 1,320 | $74,565 |
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,295 | $129,245 |
| Lawyers | 1,259 | $151,704 |
| Public Relations Specialists | 1,210 | $50,774 |
| Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists | 1,143 | $52,115 |
| Sales Managers | 1,142 | $103,611 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 1,129 | $98,334 |
| Occupational Therapists | 1,082 | $70,389 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | 1,069 | $75,567 |
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | 1,046 | $106,513 |
| Logisticians | 1,039 | $70,566 |
| Physicists | 1,023 | $75,755 |
| Family and General Practitioners | 986 | $174,800 |
| Architects, Except Landscape and Naval | 964 | $60,149 |
| Computer Support Specialists | 956 | $58,207 |
| Materials Engineers | 936 | $82,492 |
| Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations Spe | 929 | $52,694 |
| Chief Executives | 899 | $216,227 |
| Business Teachers, Postsecondary | 858 | $115,783 |
| Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postseco | 831 | $61,273 |
| Biomedical Engineers | 822 | $74,010 |
| Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary | 815 | $80,261 |
| Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software | 803 | $100,138 |
| Life Scientists, All Other | 795 | $52,284 |
| Materials Scientists | 761 | $68,147 |
| Economists | 752 | $104,304 |
| Dentists, General | 728 | $123,397 |
| Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 722 | $65,050 |
| Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All | 719 | $67,631 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | 716 | $101,528 |
| Microbiologists | 685 | $54,923 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, Al | 648 | $65,107 |
| Multimedia Artists and Animators | 613 | $78,210 |
| Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers | 611 | $82,230 |
| Instructional Coordinators | 569 | $51,289 |
| Budget Analysts | 568 | $58,584 |
| Registered Nurses | 565 | $64,259 |
| Pediatricians, General | 562 | $151,010 |
| Architectural and Civil Drafters | 561 | $47,361 |
| Teachers and Instructors, All Other | 558 | $40,885 |
| Actuaries | 554 | $92,003 |
| Cost Estimators | 554 | $65,680 |
| Fashion Designers | 551 | $69,944 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | 549 | $62,395 |
| Credit Analysts | 546 | $74,193 |
| Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/ | 545 | $44,898 |
| Advertising and Promotions Managers | 528 | $98,842 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | 527 | $54,003 |
| Purchasing Managers | 502 | $89,533 |
| Industrial Production Managers | 497 | $100,925 |
| Petroleum Engineers | 488 | $122,990 |
| Coaches and Scouts | 486 | $40,456 |
| Environmental Engineers | 464 | $73,802 |
| Editors | 454 | $55,674 |
| Speech-Language Pathologists | 451 | $69,197 |
| Special Education Teachers, Preschool, Kindergarte | 426 | $52,079 |
| Veterinarians | 420 | $75,066 |
| Social Science Research Assistants | 419 | $44,552 |