H-1B sponsors by occupation
Companies that sponsor H-1B visas for Physicists
1,153 certified H-1B applications in a year were for Physicists, from 68 employers with five or more. Brookhaven National Laboratory files the most (98), but sponsorship is spread out — the top five employers make up 20% of applications.
Certified applications
1,153
Jul 2025 – Jun 2026
Median offered salary
$85,000
$72,000 – $130,000 middle half
Employers with 5+ filings
68
0.2% of all H-1B filings are for this occupation
- The median offered salary is $85,000, with the middle half between $72,000 and $130,000.
- Most filings are at wage level I (entry level); the median rises from $76,167 at level I to $200,000 at level IV.
- California has the most filings (201); among the main states, Tennessee pays the highest median ($115,800).
Top H-1B sponsors for Physicists
Employers with the most certified applications for this occupation, and the median salary they offered.
| # | Employer | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brookhaven National Laboratory | 98 | $123,000 |
| 2 | University of Maryland College Park | 40 | $75,750 |
| 3 | Ut-Battelle (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) | 36 | $126,216 |
| 4 | Triad National Security | 28 | $149,000 |
| 5 | The Trustees of Princeton University | 26 | $97,000 |
| 6 | Fermi Forward Discovery Group | 24 | $99,362 |
| 7 | UChicago Argonne | 22 | $77,126 |
| 8 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 20 | $80,000 |
| 9 | Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator Lab | 18 | $118,000 |
| 10 | Lawrence Livermore National Security | 17 | $186,059 |
| 11 | University of California, Berkeley | 17 | $82,836 |
| 12 | Columbia University | 16 | $79,237 |
| 13 | Harvard University | 16 | $72,000 |
| 14 | University of California, San Diego | 15 | $91,000 |
| 15 | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | 15 | $161,148 |
| 16 | Michigan State University | 15 | $92,250 |
| 17 | The University of Texas at Austin | 15 | $66,571 |
| 18 | California Institute of Technology | 15 | $81,288 |
| 19 | The Leland Stanford, Jr University | 14 | $82,000 |
| 20 | The University of Chicago | 14 | $77,126 |
| 21 | University of Michigan | 14 | $75,000 |
| 22 | University of Illinois | 14 | $66,269 |
| 23 | Johns Hopkins University | 13 | $77,126 |
| 24 | Purdue University | 12 | $61,616 |
| 25 | University of California at Santa Barbara | 12 | $74,281 |
Physicists pay by wage level
The Department of Labor puts every H-1B job in one of four wage levels by experience. Median offered salary at each:
Level I · entry level
$76,167
$67,018 – $86,000 · 642 filings
Level II · qualified
$126,880
$100,000 – $168,126 · 213 filings
Level III · experienced
$153,525
$132,562 – $187,824 · 109 filings
Level IV · fully competent / senior
$200,000
$184,000 – $225,000 · 52 filings
Where the Physicists jobs are
By the worksite on each application. The bar shows the middle half of offered salaries; the dot is the median.
| State | Filings | Range | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 201 | $79,914 – $160,000 | $97,000 |
| New York | 174 | $79,753 – $132,562 | $88,347 |
| Illinois | 112 | $70,013 – $99,362 | $77,126 |
| Texas | 69 | $60,000 – $74,498 | $65,343 |
| Massachusetts | 66 | $72,450 – $110,000 | $81,500 |
| Maryland | 65 | $73,000 – $97,950 | $79,000 |
| Tennessee | 46 | $87,951 – $134,405 | $115,800 |
| New Jersey | 40 | $75,000 – $123,714 | $86,184 |
| Michigan | 35 | $67,500 – $100,000 | $83,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 33 | $71,000 – $165,401 | $90,000 |
About the occupation
Conduct research into physical phenomena, develop theories on the basis of observation and experiments, and devise methods to apply physical laws and theories.
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Physicists and H-1B: common questions
- Which companies sponsor H-1B visas for Physicists?
- By certified H-1B applications (Jul 2025 – Jun 2026), the biggest sponsors are Brookhaven National Laboratory (98), University of Maryland College Park (40), Ut-Battelle (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) (36), Triad National Security (28), The Trustees of Princeton University (26). In total 68 employers filed five or more applications for this occupation.
- How much do Physicists earn on an H-1B?
- The median offered salary on certified filings is $85,000; the middle half ranges from $72,000 to $130,000 (1,153 filings). Pay rises with the Labor Department's four wage levels, shown above.
- Which states have the most H-1B jobs for Physicists?
- By worksite: California (201), New York (174), Illinois (112), Texas (69), Massachusetts (66).
- Does a company with many filings guarantee sponsorship?
- No. A certified application shows the employer intended to sponsor for that job; it doesn't mean every opening is open to visa candidates. Check the job post or ask the recruiter early.