Of these, 4,518 were approved (98.6%), while 65 were denied (1.4%).
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 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industry led the H-1B filings in Minnesota during 2024, with 1,282 petitions (28% of all submissions), and an approval rate of 97.3%. Meanwhile, the Educational Services industry was the second largest contributor, filing 877 petitions (19.1% of the total), with an approval rate of 99.2%.
The Minnesota employers with the most petitions during 2024 included US Bank National Association, which filed 472 petitions with an approval rate of 99.8%, Optum Services, Inc. with 424 petitions and an approval rate of 98.8%, and Mayo Clinic, which filed 393 petitions with an approval rate of 99.2%.
Compared to 2023, the number of H-1B petitions filed in Minnesota during 2024 decreased by 1.6%.
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 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,282 | 28% | 97.3% | 2.7% |
| 2 | Educational Services | 877 | 19.1% | 99.2% | 0.8% |
| 3 | Finance and Insurance | 772 | 16.8% | 99.5% | 0.5% |
| 4 | Manufacturing | 718 | 15.7% | 99.9% | 0.1% |
| 5 | Retail Trade | 305 | 6.7% | 99% | 1% |
| 6 | Health Care and Social Assistance | 187 | 4.1% | 95.7% | 4.3% |
| 7 | Information | 104 | 2.3% | 97.1% | 2.9% |
| 8 | Wholesale Trade | 65 | 1.4% | 100% | 0% |
| 9 | Construction | 53 | 1.2% | 98.1% | 1.9% |
| 10 | Utilities | 50 | 1.1% | 98% | 2% |
| 11 | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 38 | 0.8% | 100% | 0% |
| 12 | Other Services (except Public Administration) | 19 | 0.4% | 94.7% | 5.3% |
| 13 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 10 | 0.2% | 100% | 0% |
| 14 | Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 9 | 0.2% | 100% | 0% |
| 15 | Transportation and Warehousing | 5 | 0.1% | 100% | 0% |
| 15 | Public Administration | 5 | 0.1% | 80% | 20% |
| 17 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 4 | 0.1% | 100% | 0% |
| 18 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 3 | 0.1% | 100% | 0% |
| 19 | Accommodation and Food Services | 2 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| 19 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 2 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Company Name | Industries | Total Petitions | % Approved | % Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bank National Association | Finance and Insurance, Management of Companies and Enterprises | 472 | 99.8% | 0.2% |
| Optum Services, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 424 | 98.8% | 1.2% |
| Mayo Clinic | Educational Services | 393 | 99.2% | 0.8% |
| Medtronic, Inc. | Manufacturing | 309 | 100% | 0% |
| University of Minnesota | Educational Services, Health Care and Social Assistance | 191 | 99.5% | 0.5% |
| Target Enterprise, Inc. | Retail Trade | 163 | 99.4% | 0.6% |
| Best Buy Company, Inc. | Retail Trade | 132 | 100% | 0% |
| RBC Capital Markets, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 93 | 100% | 0% |
| Covidien LP | Manufacturing | 88 | 100% | 0% |
| Sagitec Solutions, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 65 | 100% | 0% |
| Ameriprise Financial, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 55 | 100% | 0% |
| Arcus Technologies | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 48 | 100% | 0% |
| NCS Pearson, Inc. | Information | 36 | 97.2% | 2.8% |
| M a Mortenson Company | Construction | 34 | 100% | 0% |
| CHS, Inc. | Wholesale Trade | 32 | 100% | 0% |
| Ecolab USA, Inc. | Utilities | 29 | 96.6% | 3.4% |
| Group Health Plan, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 28 | 100% | 0% |
| Lakes International Language Academy | Educational Services | 28 | 100% | 0% |
| University of Minnesota Physicians | Health Care and Social Assistance | 28 | 100% | 0% |
| Fridley Public Schools Independent School District 14 | Educational Services | 27 | 100% | 0% |
| General Mills, Inc. | Manufacturing | 24 | 100% | 0% |
| Elavon, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 24 | 100% | 0% |
| Cargill Incorporated | Manufacturing, Finance and Insurance | 24 | 100% | 0% |
| DC Group, Inc. | Manufacturing | 23 | 100% | 0% |
| Deluxe Corporation | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 22 | 100% | 0% |
| 3M Company | Manufacturing, Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 22 | 100% | 0% |
| Tekhops, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 21 | 100% | 0% |
| United Healthcare Services, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 20 | 95% | 5% |
| Minnesota State University Mankato | Educational Services | 20 | 100% | 0% |
| Thomson Reuters Services, Inc. | Information | 20 | 100% | 0% |
| 3M Healthcare US Opco, LLC | Manufacturing, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 20 | 100% | 0% |
| Nihilent, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 19 | 100% | 0% |
| Polaris, Inc. | Retail Trade | 19 | 100% | 0% |
| Techvision Company | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 19 | 94.7% | 5.3% |
| Minneapolis Public Schools | Educational Services | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| Andersen Corporation | Manufacturing | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| Logic Information Systems, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| Concord USA, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| Southwest Metro Intermediate District 288 | Educational Services | 17 | 100% | 0% |
| Maritz Consulting Group | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 15 | 100% | 0% |
| Open Systems International, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 15 | 100% | 0% |
| Genisys Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 15 | 100% | 0% |
| 3M Health Information Systems, Inc. | Manufacturing | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| Oremda Infotech, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14 | 92.9% | 7.1% |
| U S Electronics, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14 | 92.9% | 7.1% |
| Turnberry Solutions, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14 | 92.9% | 7.1% |
| Iziel Healthcare, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 13 | 100% | 0% |
| Vits Consulting, Corp. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 13 | 92.3% | 7.7% |
| Allina Health System | Health Care and Social Assistance | 13 | 92.3% | 7.7% |
| Param Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12 | 91.7% | 8.3% |
| Prasquare Technologies, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| Sleep Number Corporation | Retail Trade | 12 | 91.7% | 8.3% |
| Strategic Education, Inc. | Educational Services | 12 | 100% | 0% |
| Land O Lakes, Inc. | Manufacturing | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| The ISD 622 Education Center D B a | Educational Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Idom, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Talech, Inc. | Information, Finance and Insurance | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Rogers Freels Associates, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Yinghua Academy | Educational Services | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Sezzle, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| Phdata, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| University of St. Thomas | Educational Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Itprofound, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Intermediate School District 917 D | Educational Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Horizontal Integration, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| New Century School | Educational Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Bento Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Walleye Capital, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Oasys Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Fastenal Company | Manufacturing | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| WSB, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| 3M Healthcare Management, LLC | Manufacturing | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Dwaith Infotech, Inc. | Information, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 88.9% | 11.1% |
| Royal Bank of Canada | Finance and Insurance | 9 | 88.9% | 11.1% |
| Smart Solutions, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| Javen Technologies, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Metro Social Services, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| District 742 Community Schools | Educational Services | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School Dis | Educational Services | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Ucare Minnesota | Finance and Insurance | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Starkey Laboratories, Inc. | Manufacturing | 8 | 87.5% | 12.5% |
| Tennant Company | Wholesale Trade | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| Sankrish Consulting, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 7 | 85.7% | 14.3% |
| Independent School District 16 | Educational Services | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| Carleton College | Educational Services | 7 | 85.7% | 14.3% |
| G Sol, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 7 | 85.7% | 14.3% |
| Provation Software, Inc. | Information | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| EVS, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 7 | 85.7% | 14.3% |
| Piper Sandler and Company | Finance and Insurance | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| Synergy Software Solutions, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| Independent School District 38 Red Lake Public School District | Educational Services | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| International Quality Homecare Corporation | Health Care and Social Assistance | 6 | 50% | 50% |
| Allianz Technology of America, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| Betasharp, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| Banner Engineering | Manufacturing | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| Stratagem Consulting, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 6 | 66.7% | 33.3% |
| Datasite, LLC | Information | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| Phaedon, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| Icon It Group | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 5 | 100% | 0% |