Jennifer B. Higgins, Deputy Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services | https://medium.com/the-u-s-digital-service/meet-the-dhs-digital-service-champions-may-2018-caee7dade2b
Jennifer B. Higgins, Deputy Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services | https://medium.com/the-u-s-digital-service/meet-the-dhs-digital-service-champions-may-2018-caee7dade2b
This represents an approval rate of 98.7%, which is higher than the nationwide average.
That year, the average approval rate for H-1B petitions across the U.S. stood at 98%, slightly higher than the 97.3% recorded in 2023. Statewide, employers in California across all industries submitted 80,081 petitions during the same period, with an approval rate of 98.5%.
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 Information industry led H-1B petition approvals in the Oakland City Wire publication area during 2024, filing a total of 297 petitions (24.9% of all submissions) and receiving 293 approvals, resulting in an approval rate of 98.7%. The Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industry followed, with 274 petitions (22.9% of all submissions) and an approval rate of 97.4%.
Employers are classified under industries based on their reported operations and may be involved in multiple industries.
The employers that filed the most petitions in the area during 2024 included Block, Inc. with 235 petitions and 98.3% of them approved, University of California Berkeley with 170 petitions and 99.4% of them approved, and Credit Karma, LLC with 125 petitions filed and an approval rate of 99.2%.
Compared to 2023, California saw a 6.9% 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 | % Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Information | 297 | 24.9% | 98.7% | 1.3% |
| 2 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 274 | 22.9% | 97.4% | 2.6% |
| 3 | Educational Services | 216 | 18.1% | 99.1% | 0.9% |
| 4 | Finance and Insurance | 199 | 16.7% | 99.5% | 0.5% |
| 5 | Manufacturing | 72 | 6% | 98.6% | 1.4% |
| 6 | Health Care and Social Assistance | 54 | 4.5% | 100% | 0% |
| 7 | Utilities | 24 | 2% | 100% | 0% |
| 8 | Construction | 10 | 0.8% | 100% | 0% |
| 9 | Wholesale Trade | 8 | 0.7% | 100% | 0% |
| 9 | Retail Trade | 8 | 0.7% | 100% | 0% |
| 11 | Other Services (except Public Administration) | 7 | 0.6% | 100% | 0% |
| 11 | Transportation and Warehousing | 7 | 0.6% | 100% | 0% |
| 13 | Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 4 | 0.3% | 100% | 0% |
| 14 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 2 | 0.2% | 100% | 0% |
| 15 | Public Administration | 1 | 0.1% | 100% | 0% |
| 15 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1 | 0.1% | 100% | 0% |
| Company Name | Industries | Total Petitions | % Approved | % Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block, Inc. | Information | 235 | 98.3% | 1.7% |
| University of California Berkeley | Educational Services | 170 | 99.4% | 0.6% |
| Credit Karma, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 125 | 99.2% | 0.8% |
| Coinbase, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 75 | 100% | 0% |
| Marqeta, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 67 | 100% | 0% |
| Afterpay US, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 26 | 100% | 0% |
| Pacific Gas and Electric Company | Utilities | 24 | 100% | 0% |
| Yu Ming Charter School | Educational Services | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| Cep America California | Health Care and Social Assistance | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| Typical Set, LLC | Finance and Insurance, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 14 | 85.7% | 14.3% |
| The Permanente Medical Group, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Everlaw, Inc. | Information | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Cuberg, Inc. | Manufacturing | 11 | 100% | 0% |
| Osisoft, LLC | Information | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| Oakland Unified School District | Educational Services | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| The Clorox Services Company | Manufacturing | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Fivetran, Inc. | Information | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Education for Change | Educational Services | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| Berkeley Research Group, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 7 | 100% | 0% |
| Promaxo, Inc. | Manufacturing | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| Matson Navigation Company | Transportation and Warehousing | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| Amyris | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 6 | 100% | 0% |
| Bruker Cellular Analysis, Inc. | Manufacturing, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 5 | 100% | 0% |
| Covariant, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 5 | 100% | 0% |
| Lighthouse Community Public Schools | Educational Services | 5 | 80% | 20% |
| Relationalai, Inc. | Information | 5 | 100% | 0% |
| Mettler Toledo Rainin, LLC | Manufacturing | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| Metagenomi Company | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| Harris California, Inc. | Construction | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| Locally Compact, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| Lilac Solutions, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4 | 75% | 25% |
| Vituity Michigan, PLLC | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| Vituity Indiana, LLC | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| Cep America Illinois Hospitalists, LLP | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| Grocery Outlet, Inc. | Retail Trade | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| Carbon Health Technologies, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Thredup, Inc. | Retail Trade | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Toric Labs, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| The Clorox Company | Manufacturing | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Malibu Entertainment, Inc. | Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| JMA Civil, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| 4D Molecular Therapeutics, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Freewire Technologies, Inc. | Manufacturing | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Launchdarkly | Information | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Voleon Capital Management LP | Finance and Insurance | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Annona, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 66.7% | 33.3% |
| New Culture, Inc. | Manufacturing | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Vituity - South Carolina, LLC | Health Care and Social Assistance | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Turnitin, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| ASK Media Group, LLC | Information | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Eko Health, Inc. | Manufacturing | 3 | 66.7% | 33.3% |
| Vector Flow, Inc. | Information | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| Stimscience, Inc. | Manufacturing | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| E L F Cosmetics, Inc. | Retail Trade | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Francophone Charter School of Oakland | Educational Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Square Financial Services, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Pyatok Architects, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Smart-Tecs, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Tanium, Inc. | Information | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| PIXAR | Information | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Premier Nutrition Company, LLC | Manufacturing | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Solar Mosaic, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Superbio Ai, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Energy Recovery, Inc. | Manufacturing | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Dittolive, Inc. | Information | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California | Finance and Insurance | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Advanced Software Design, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Octant, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Omni Consulting Services, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| NMI Holdings, Inc. | Finance and Insurance | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Omniab, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Nexusflow Ai, Inc. | Information | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Andrew M Jordan, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Anvil Builders, Inc. | Construction, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Ariat International, Inc. | Wholesale Trade | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Asian Health Services | Health Care and Social Assistance | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Otis Mcallister, Inc. | Wholesale Trade | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| B and C Transit, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Curacubby, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Coreshell Technologies | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| The Allen Group, LLC | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Petit Pot, Inc. | Manufacturing | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| The Clear Fund | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| The Ratcliff Architects | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Medamerica, Inc. | Health Care and Social Assistance | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Quincy Data, LLC | Manufacturing | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Canventa Life Science, Inc. | Manufacturing, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Bluespace Ai, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Best Bay Apartments, Inc. | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Recurrency, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Badawi and Associates | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2 | 100% | 0% |
| Pyka, Inc. | Manufacturing | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| PSE Healthy Energy | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| Qubiqle, Inc. | Information | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| R2 Building, LLC | Construction | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| Prolific Machines, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| Project M Ventures, LLC | Finance and Insurance | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| Profusa, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| Principle Power, Inc. | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| Primergy Solar Management, LLC | Utilities | 1 | 100% | 0% |
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