Infosys ranks first, even though it filed 31 percent lesser LCAs for H-1bB visas in 2016 than the previous year.
Among the top employers who sponsored the H-1B visas, 10 Indian or Indian American owned companies’ list in the top 25 in 2017 H-1B Visa Report by myvisajobs.com. The website has created the database by compiling the Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) filed by the US employers in the previous fiscal years, the most recent being 2016.
According to the report, Infosys Limited clinched to the top position, again; though, it filed 31 percent lesser LCAs for the fiscal year 2016, as compared to the previous year. The other top nine Indian/Indian American sponsoring companies, along with their overall rank among H-1B sponsors, are Tata Consultancy Services (3), Wipro (5), Tech Mahindra (Americas) (7), Cognizant Technology Solutions (9), Ust Global (14), Larson & Toubro Infotect (15), Igate Technologies (17), L & T Technology Services (18), Hexaware Technologies (24).
The H-1B employers provide pertinent information regarding a guest worker’s salary, occupation and location while filing the LCA, with the US Department of Labor. All this information is public. The LCA figures mentioned in the story include renewed, transferred and cap-exempt LCAs, too. After the Labor Department certifies the LCA, the employers can proceed to request for the H-1B visas. Generally, one third of the certified LCAs are cleared for the visa. And this is also a reason that these employers flood the USCIS with thousands of applications.
To compare the change in the number of LCAs from fiscal year 2016 to 2015, we took 2016 as the base year. We have also included the most popular job title and work city for each company.
Infosys Limited: Lesser LCAs, increased average salary.
For fiscal year 2016, Infosys applied for 25,405, this is nearly 7884 lesser applications compared to the previous year. Percentage-wise there was a reduction of 31 percent in the LCAs. However, the average salary for the foreign workers increased to $81,705 from 79,201, i.e., a hike of $2,504 per annum. As for the job title, more than 25 percent were hired as Technology Lead – US. The maximum number of these H-1B beneficiaries were to be located in Sunnyvale, CA, according to the information provided in the LCA.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): Lesser LCAs, increased average salary.
TCS ranked third in the overall list of US employers with 13,134 LCAs for the fiscal year 2016. However, TCS filed nearly 50 percent lesser applications than Infosys. When we juxtapose the 2016 data with the number of applications filed during the previous year, there also the company shows a downward trend. For the fiscal year 2015, TCC filed 16,553 applications, i.e., more than 13 percent fall in applications. Regarding average salary, the company offered $76,099 for the fiscal year 2016. In comparison, for 2015, the average salary was $69,648. So, there was an increase of $6,451. TCS hired nearly 40 percent of its employees as Developers, in the IT sector. A larger number of these were to be located in Atlanta, GA.
Wipro: Lesser LCAs, increased average salary.
Wipro ranked fifth among US sponsors for the H-1B visas. The tech company applied for 10,607 LCAs for the fiscal year 2016; a fall of more than 15 percent when compared with previous year’s applications. On average salary, Wipro, too, increased the remuneration by $2,414. The company offered $72,720 in 2016. Wipro hired more than 25 percent foreign workers to work as Lead Engineers. Here again, the highest number of guest workers were employed to work in Sunnyvale, CA.
Tech Mahindra (Americas): More LCAs, increased average salary.
Tech Mahindra (Americas) (TM-A) ranked seventh among H-1B employers. The company applied for 8,615 LCAs. This company, however, saw a decent spike in applications. For the fiscal year 2016, TM-A filed nearly 30 percent more applications than the previous year. On average salary, the company offered $75,879, which was a wee bit increase of $835. More than 23 percent of the guest workers were hired as Computer Programmers. And, maximum number were to be located in Richardson, Texas.
Cognizant Technology Solutions: More LCAs, increased average salary.
Cognizant was ninth in the list of US employers who sponsored the H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2016. The company filed for 5,370 LCAs. This tech company saw a substantial increase of nearly 35 percent than the previous year’s LCAs. Regarding average salary, for 2016, Cognizant offered 74,628, which is a $2069 increase than the previous year. Here again, more than 23 percent were hired as Senior Systems Analyst; and maximum employees were hired for Teaneck, NJ.
Ust Global Inc.: Lesser LCAs, increased average salary.
Ust Global ranked 14th for the fiscal year 2016. The company filed 3,170 LCAs. Ust filed lesser applications than the previous year; percentage-wise they filed more than seven percent less LCAs. On the average salary front, for the year 2016, the company offered $69,819. There was a nominal increase of $ 1,661 than the previous year. The maximum hiring, nearly 19 percent, was done under the job title Senior Systems Analyst. City-wise, Ust Global located a bigger chunk of guest workers in Woodland Hills, CA.
Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI): Lesser LCAs, increased average salary.
The Mumbai, India,-based LTI ranked 15th in the fiscal year 2016. The company filed 3,092 LCAs. In comparison to previous year, there was a decrease of 14 percent in the number of applications with the Labor Department. Regarding average salary, in the year 2016, LTI paid $76,755. This was $2641 more than the previous year’s average salary. Nearly 25 percent of prospective employees were offered jobs as Computer Systems Engineer, in 2016. Maximum number of LCAs mentioned the job location as Hartford, CT.
Igate Technologies: Significant drop in LCAs, lower average salary.
Igate Technologies is the top 17th sponsor of foreign skilled workers. It filed 2,197 LCAs. Igate reduced its applications by 2,356, which is a staggering 108 percent nosedive. On average salary, too, there was a decline by $1260. In 2016, the company’s average remuneration was $70,209; whereas, in 2015 it paid $71,469, on average. The tech company filed more than 40 percent of LCAs to hire for Computer Programmers, with maximum number to be located in Oak Brook, IL.
L & T Technology Services: More LCAs, significant increase in average salary.
Headquartered in Mumbai, India, L & T Technology hired for the aerospace sector. The company’s registered office in the US is in Edison, NJ. It filed a total of 1,853 LCAs. The company filed nearly 46 percent more applications than the previous year. On salary front, too, there was a significant spike. Average salary for the fiscal year 2016 was $69,648; more than $8,000 higher than previous year. Largest percentage of the LCAs, i.e. nearly 20 percent, were under the job title Design Engineer. Regarding location, maximum LCAs were filed for work in Rockford, IL.
Hexaware Technologies: Decent increase in LCAs, better average salary.
The IT company Hexaware Technologies ranked 24th among the top US employers in terms of LCAs, for the fiscal year 2016. It filed 1,634 labor condition applications. The company witnessed a decent increase of more than 26 percent in LCAs. Regarding average salary, it offered $72,336 in 2016. In comparison, the company paid $71,009 the previous year; an increase of $1,327. More than 40 percent of the prospective employees were hired as Computer Programmers. A bigger number of these guest workers were to be located in Mclean, VA.