This represents an approval rate of 94%, which is lower than the nationwide average.
In 2024, the average approval rate for H-1B petitions across the U.S. stood at 98%, slightly higher than the 97.3% recorded in 2023.
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. It is designed to address skill gaps in the U.S. workforce while ensuring wage standards to protect both U.S. and H-1B workers. Employers must certify that they will pay H-1B workers wages equal to or greater than those of similarly qualified U.S. employees or the prevailing local wage.
The Educational Services industry led H-1B petition approvals in South Carolina during 2024, filing a total of 635 petitions (38.5% of all submissions) and receiving 622 approvals, resulting in an approval rate of 98%. The Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industry followed, with 449 petitions (27.2% of all submissions), receiving 376 approvals and an approval rate of 83.7%.
Employers are classified under industries based on their reported operations and may be involved in multiple industries.
The South Carolina employers with the most approvals during 2024 included Richland County School District One, filing a total of 90 petitions and receiving approvals for all of them, and Clemson University, which filed 86 petitions and received approvals for all of them.
Compared to 2023, South Carolina saw a 3.5% increase in the number of H-1B petitions during 2024.
The United States admits around 1 million legal immigrants annually, most of whom receive permanent residence (green cards) through family sponsorship or employment-based visas. In 2023, about 1.2 million immigrants were granted green cards, a return to pre-pandemic levels. Temporary visa programs, such as the H-1B for highly skilled workers and H-2A for seasonal agricultural workers, also play a critical role in filling workforce needs.
Public opinion on immigration varies, with 46% of Americans favoring maintaining current legal immigration levels, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey. Additionally, 42% believe that highly skilled workers, such as scientists, doctors, and programmers, should be prioritized for legal immigration, compared to 25% who prioritize workers filling labor shortages and 19% who emphasize family sponsorship. Despite this, family sponsorship remains the most common path to permanent residency, accounting for 63% of green cards issued in 2023.
The data in this article comes from the H-1B Employer Data Hub provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). While USCIS strives for accuracy, manual data entry and errors on paper forms submitted by applicants or petitioners may result in discrepancies in employer names, tax IDs, locations, or other details.
| Rank | Industry | Total Petitions | % of All Submissions | Approved Petitions | % Approved | % Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Educational Services | 635 | 38.5% | 622 | 98% | 2% |
| 2 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 449 | 27.2% | 376 | 83.7% | 16.3% |
| 3 | Manufacturing | 211 | 12.8% | 209 | 99.1% | 0.9% |
| 4 | Finance and Insurance | 126 | 7.6% | 125 | 99.2% | 0.8% |
| 5 | Health Care and Social Assistance | 78 | 4.7% | 77 | 98.7% | 1.3% |
| 6 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 20 | 1.2% | 19 | 95% | 5% |
| 7 | Utilities | 18 | 1.1% | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| 8 | Construction | 17 | 1% | 16 | 94.1% | 5.9% |
| 9 | Wholesale Trade | 13 | 0.8% | 13 | 100% | 0% |
| 9 | Information | 13 | 0.8% | 13 | 100% | 0% |
| 11 | Transportation and Warehousing | 6 | 0.4% | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| 12 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 5 | 0.3% | 5 | 100% | 0% |
| 12 | Public Administration | 5 | 0.3% | 5 | 100% | 0% |
| 14 | Other Services (except Public Administration) | 4 | 0.2% | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 15 | Accommodation and Food Services | 4 | 0.2% | 3 | 75% | 25% |
| 15 | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 3 | 0.2% | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 17 | Retail Trade | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| 17 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| Rank | Company Name | Industry(ies) | Total Petitions | Approved Petitions | % Approved | % Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richland County School District One | Educational Services | 90 | 90 | 100% | 0% |
| 2 | Clemson University | Educational Services | 86 | 86 | 100% | 0% |
| 3 | Medical University of School and Affil | Educational Services | 70 | 69 | 98.6% | 1.4% |
| 4 | Jasper County School District | Educational Services | 52 | 48 | 92.3% | 7.7% |
| 5 | Dorchester School District Two | Educational Services | 35 | 35 | 100% | 0% |
| 6 | Lexington County School District One | Educational Services | 33 | 33 | 100% | 0% |
| 7 | Schaeffler Group USA, Inc. | Manufacturing | 31 | 31 | 100% | 0% |
| 8 | University of South Carolina | Educational Services | 30 | 30 | 100% | 0% |
| 9 | NK Technolabs, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 59 | 27 | 45.8% | 54.2% |
| 10 | Lee County School District | Educational Services | 27 | 26 | 96.3% | 3.7% |
| 10 | LPL Financial, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 26 | 26 | 100% | 0% |
| 12 | Wissen It, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 28 | 25 | 89.3% | 10.7% |
| 12 | Caliber It Solutions, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 25 | 25 | 100% | 0% |
| 12 | American Credit Acceptance, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 26 | 25 | 96.2% | 3.8% |
| 12 | Orrba Systems, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 26 | 25 | 96.2% | 3.8% |
| 16 | Rbus a Red Ventures Company, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 24 | 23 | 95.8% | 4.2% |
| 16 | Orangeburg County School District | Educational Services | 25 | 23 | 92% | 8% |
| 18 | Schaeffler Transmission, LLC | Manufacturing | 21 | 21 | 100% | 0% |
| 19 | Darlington County School District | Educational Services | 22 | 19 | 86.4% | 13.6% |
| 20 | Colleton County School District | Educational Services | 19 | 18 | 94.7% | 5.3% |
| 20 | Sanctityinternational, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 27 | 18 | 66.7% | 33.3% |
| 22 | Sysintel, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 16 | 16 | 100% | 0% |
| 23 | Nacittech, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14 | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| 23 | Purpose Financial, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 14 | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| 25 | Quartet, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 13 | 12 | 92.3% | 7.7% |
| 25 | Volvo Car USA, LLC | Manufacturing | 12 | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| 27 | Coastal Carolina University | Educational Services | 12 | 11 | 91.7% | 8.3% |
| 27 | Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 11 | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| 27 | Global Lending Services, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 11 | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| 27 | Keen Info Tek, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 13 | 11 | 84.6% | 15.4% |
| 27 | Ammadar, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| 27 | Datasoft Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| 33 | ZF Transmissions Gray Court, LLC | Manufacturing | 10 | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| 33 | Es Foundry, Corp. | Manufacturing | 11 | 10 | 90.9% | 9.1% |
| 33 | Techwizens, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 10 | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| 36 | Williamsburg County School District | Educational Services | 10 | 9 | 90% | 10% |
| 36 | Appstream Technologies, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 9 | 81.8% | 18.2% |
| 36 | Healthpro Heritage, LLC | Health Care and Social Assistance | 9 | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| 36 | Calhoun County School District | Educational Services | 9 | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| 36 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina | Finance and Insurance | 9 | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| 41 | Dominion Energy Services, Inc. | Utilities | 8 | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| 41 | Coker University | Educational Services | 8 | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| 41 | Grey Matter Solutions, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 8 | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| 41 | Hampton County School District | Educational Services; Health Care and Social Assistance | 8 | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| 41 | Curo Management, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 8 | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| 41 | Spartanburg Regional Health Services District, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 8 | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| 41 | 3D Systems, Inc. | Manufacturing | 8 | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | Virginia Electric and Power Company | Utilities | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | Fairfield County School District | Educational Services | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | Mercedes Benz Vans, LLC | Manufacturing | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | Prisma Health Medical Group Midlands | Health Care and Social Assistance | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | Agfirst Farm Credit Bank | Finance and Insurance | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | Greystar Management Services, LLC | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 8 | 7 | 87.5% | 12.5% |
| 48 | East Point Academy | Educational Services | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | The Citadel | Educational Services | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | Roh Technologies, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 48 | Rock Hill School District No 3 | Educational Services | 7 | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| 58 | College of Charleston | Educational Services | 6 | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| 58 | Enviri Corporation Formerly Harsco | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing; Management of Companies and Enterprises | 6 | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| 58 | Resurgent Capital Services LP | Finance and Insurance | 6 | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| 58 | Laurens County School District 55 | Educational Services | 6 | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| 58 | Rudderstack in | Information | 6 | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| 58 | Ultraaura Systems, LLC | Educational Services | 6 | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| 64 | Regional Management, Corp. | Finance and Insurance | 5 | 5 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Continental Tire the Americas, LLC | Manufacturing | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Conway Hospital, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Companion Professional Services | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Tana Systems, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 5 | 4 | 80% | 20% |
| 65 | Infrastructure Consulting and Engineering, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Columbia International University | Educational Services | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Techtronic Cordless, GP | Wholesale Trade | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Domtar Paper Company, LLC | Manufacturing | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Hopehealth, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Winthrop University | Educational Services | 5 | 4 | 80% | 20% |
| 65 | Nucor Corporation | Manufacturing | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Teqsphere, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Strand Physician Specialists PA D | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Allendale County School District | Educational Services | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Mcleod Regional Medical Center of the Pee Dee, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Sonoco Products Company | Manufacturing | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Century 3 Engineering, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Fit Voltaira Americas Corporation | Manufacturing | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Sloka Technologies, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Blackbaud, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 65 | Scout Motors, Inc. | Manufacturing | 4 | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | East Link Academy | Educational Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Mekra Lang North America, LLC | Manufacturing | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Ambiopharm, Inc. | Manufacturing | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Navatio Pharma USA, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Francis Marion University | Educational Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Newberry College | Educational Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Airsys Cooling Technologies, Inc. | Manufacturing; Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Self Regional Healthcare | Health Care and Social Assistance | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Health Payroll Services, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | S C Department of Natural Resource | Public Administration | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | S C Department of Mental Health | Health Care and Social Assistance; Public Administration | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Royal Live Oaks Academy | Educational Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Greenwood Genetic Center, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | China Jushi USA Corporation | Manufacturing; Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 86 | Spark It Technologies, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0% |