Of these, 9,764 were approved (98.4%), while 155 were denied (1.6%).
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.
For comparison, the average approval rate for H-1B petitions across the United States in 2024 stood at 98%, slightly higher than the 97.3% recorded in 2023.
The Information industry led the H-1B filings in Washington during 2024, with 5,721 petitions (57.7% of all submissions), and an approval rate of 99%. Meanwhile, the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industry was the second largest contributor, filing 1,955 petitions (19.7% of the total), with an approval rate of 98.1%.
The Washington employers with the most petitions during 2024 included Microsoft Corporation, which filed 4,769 petitions with an approval rate of 99.1%, T-Mobile USA, Inc. with 409 petitions and an approval rate of 99.5%, and Expedia, Inc., which filed 335 petitions with an approval rate of 98.8%.
Compared to 2023, the number of H-1B petitions filed in Washington during 2024 decreased by 3.4%.
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 | % Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Information | 5,721 | 57.7% | 99% | 1% |
| 2 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,955 | 19.7% | 98.1% | 1.9% |
| 3 | Health Care and Social Assistance | 466 | 4.7% | 94% | 6% |
| 4 | Manufacturing | 379 | 3.8% | 97.1% | 2.9% |
| 5 | Educational Services | 362 | 3.6% | 98.6% | 1.4% |
| 6 | Retail Trade | 343 | 3.5% | 98.5% | 1.5% |
| 7 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 159 | 1.6% | 98.7% | 1.3% |
| 8 | Finance and Insurance | 153 | 1.5% | 99.3% | 0.7% |
| 9 | Wholesale Trade | 69 | 0.7% | 98.6% | 1.4% |
| 10 | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 59 | 0.6% | 93.2% | 6.8% |
| 11 | Construction | 36 | 0.4% | 97.2% | 2.8% |
| 11 | Public Administration | 36 | 0.4% | 100% | 0% |
| 13 | Other Services (except Public Administration) | 32 | 0.3% | 96.9% | 3.1% |
| 14 | Transportation and Warehousing | 28 | 0.3% | 100% | 0% |
| 15 | Utilities | 16 | 0.2% | 100% | 0% |
| 16 | Accommodation and Food Services | 11 | 0.1% | 90.9% | 9.1% |
| 17 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 9 | 0.1% | 100% | 0% |
| 18 | Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 5 | 0.1% | 100% | 0% |
| 19 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 4 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| 20 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 1 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Company Name | Industries | Total Petitions | % Approved | % Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation | Information, Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 4,769 | 99.1% | 0.9% |
| T-Mobile USA, Inc. | Information | 409 | 99.5% | 0.5% |
| Expedia, Inc. | Information | 335 | 98.8% | 1.2% |
| University of Washington | Educational Services | 198 | 99% | 1% |
| Slalom, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 184 | 97.8% | 2.2% |
| Nordstrom, Inc. | Retail Trade, Transportation and Warehousing | 159 | 98.1% | 1.9% |
| Starbucks Coffee Company | Manufacturing | 126 | 99.2% | 0.8% |
| Battelle Memorial Institute | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 124 | 99.2% | 0.8% |
| Zillow, Inc. | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 118 | 98.3% | 1.7% |
| F5, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 91 | 98.9% | 1.1% |
| Costco Wholesale Corporation | Retail Trade | 89 | 100% | 0% |
| Multicare Health System | Health Care and Social Assistance | 79 | 91.1% | 8.9% |
| Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center | Health Care and Social Assistance | 66 | 95.5% | 4.5% |
| Paccar, Inc. | Manufacturing | 60 | 95% | 5% |
| Remitly, Inc. | Finance and Insurance, Manufacturing | 55 | 98.2% | 1.8% |
| Washington State University | Educational Services | 49 | 100% | 0% |
| Edifecs, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 47 | 100% | 0% |
| Smartsheet, Inc. | Information | 44 | 100% | 0% |
| Zoominfo Technologies, LLC | Information | 44 | 100% | 0% |
| Relanto, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 38 | 100% | 0% |
| Lululemon USA, Inc. | Retail Trade | 38 | 100% | 0% |
| Peacehealth | Health Care and Social Assistance | 35 | 97.1% | 2.9% |
| Harman Connected Services, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 32 | 96.9% | 3.1% |
| C2S Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 32 | 100% | 0% |
| Aditi Consulting, LLC | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 31 | 93.5% | 6.5% |
| Coretek Labs, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 31 | 100% | 0% |
| Itron, Inc. | Manufacturing | 30 | 100% | 0% |
| Sel Engineering Services, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 30 | 100% | 0% |
| Accelalpha, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 29 | 100% | 0% |
| Ilink Systems, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 28 | 100% | 0% |
| Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 28 | 100% | 0% |
| Allen Institute | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 26 | 100% | 0% |
| Adroit Technologies and Cloud Solu | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 26 | 96.2% | 3.8% |
| Lasai Technologies, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 25 | 100% | 0% |
| Avanade, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 25 | 92% | 8% |
| Providence Health and Services Washington | Health Care and Social Assistance | 25 | 100% | 0% |
| Seattle Children S Hospital | Health Care and Social Assistance | 24 | 100% | 0% |
| Sea Mar Community Health Centers | Health Care and Social Assistance | 24 | 91.7% | 8.3% |
| Providence Health and Services | Health Care and Social Assistance | 24 | 100% | 0% |
| Tetra Systems, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 23 | 100% | 0% |
| Zen3 Infosolutions America, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 22 | 100% | 0% |
| Ge Energy Management Services, LLC | Manufacturing | 21 | 100% | 0% |
| Maq, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 20 | 100% | 0% |
| Centific Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 19 | 94.7% | 5.3% |
| Centific Global Solutions, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 19 | 100% | 0% |
| Lenora Systems, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| Omniva, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| People Technician Group, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 18 | 94.4% | 5.6% |
| Western Washington University | Educational Services | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| Premera Blue Cross | Finance and Insurance | 17 | 100% | 0% |
| Infoblox, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 16 | 87.5% | 12.5% |
| Seattle University | Educational Services | 16 | 100% | 0% |
| CWC Travel, Inc. | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 16 | 93.8% | 6.3% |
| Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation | Other Services (except Public Administration) | 15 | 100% | 0% |
| Ecom Strategies, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 15 | 100% | 0% |
| Genius Minds, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 15 | 100% | 0% |
| Ge Digital Holdings, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| Avalara, Inc. | Information | 14 | 92.9% | 7.1% |
| Medical Management International, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| Nexturn, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| Fisher Asset Management, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| Redfin Corporation | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| Confiz, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 13 | 100% | 0% |
| Puget Sound Energy, Inc. | Utilities | 13 | 100% | 0% |
| Wyze Labs, Inc. | Wholesale Trade | 13 | 100% | 0% |
| Franciscan Medical Group | Health Care and Social Assistance | 13 | 92.3% | 7.7% |
| Russell Investments Group, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 13 | 100% | 0% |
| Geoengineers, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| Sophus It Solutions, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| Beyondsoft Consulting, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| Factspan, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| The Pokemon Company International, Inc. | Retail Trade | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| Aariya Technician, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| D Amato Conversano, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 90.9% | 9.1% |
| Truveta, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Highspot, Inc. | Information, Real Estate and Rental and Leasing, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Institute for Systems Biology | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Cloudify Technologies, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Moss Adams, LLP | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Seagen, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| 9llabs, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| Sana Biotechnology, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| Swedish Health Services | Health Care and Social Assistance | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Symetra Life Insurance Company | Finance and Insurance | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Syrencloud, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Eastern Washington University | Educational Services | 9 | 88.9% | 11.1% |
| Statsig, Inc. | Information | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic | Health Care and Social Assistance | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Xpanse, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Bungie, Inc. | Information | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Cloudiq Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| FTV Employment Services, LLC | Manufacturing | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Smartek21, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 88.9% | 11.1% |
| Fluke Electronics Corporation | Manufacturing | 9 | 88.9% | 11.1% |
| Providence Health and Services Oregon | Health Care and Social Assistance | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Meteorcomm, LLC | Manufacturing | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Inicio, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 8 | 75% | 25% |
| Waferwire, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Trident Seafoods, Corp. | Wholesale Trade | 8 | 100% | 0% |