Indians remain the face of America's H-1B workforce, dominating visas, tech jobs and pay

Indian professionals continued to dominate the US H-1B visa programme in fiscal year 2025, accounting for nearly seven in every 10 approved petitions, according to the latest annual report released by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The report also shows that Indian workers remain the backbone of the programme's long-term workforce, while technology jobs continued to account for the majority of H-1B approvals and median annual salaries climbed to $133,000.

The USCIS approved 406,348 H-1B petitions during FY2025. Of these, 283,772 were for beneficiaries born in India, representing 69.9% of all approvals. China ranked a distant second with 49,161 approvals (12.1%), while no other country accounted for more than 2% of the total.

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India's grip on H-1Bs isn't loosening anytime soon

India's dominance becomes even more striking among professionals already working in the US. While Indians accounted for 50.3% of approvals for initial employment, they made up 77.6% of continuing employment approvals, indicating that Indian professionals form a significant share of workers who stay in the US on renewed H-1B status.

FY2025 H-1B approvals by country	Approvals	Share
India	283,772	69.9%
China	49,161	12.1%
Philippines	5,546	1.4%
Canada	4,382	1.1%
South Korea	4,195	1.0%

Still a tech visa before anything else

Technology continued to define the H-1B programme in FY2025.

Computer-related occupations accounted for 252,088 approvals, or 62% of all H-1B petitions, making them by far the largest occupational group. Architecture, engineering and surveying followed with 10.4%, ahead of education (6%), administrative specialisations (5.9%) and medicine and health (4.8%).

Within technology, systems analysis and programming alone accounted for more than half of all approved H-1B beneficiaries, underscoring continued demand for software engineers, programmers and IT specialists.

Top H-1B occupation groups	Share of approvals
Computer-related	62.0%
Architecture, engineering & surveying	10.4%
Education	6.0%
Administrative specialisations	5.9%
Medicine & health	4.8%

The H-1B workforce is getting more qualified

The report also highlights the educational profile of H-1B workers.

Nearly 58% of approved beneficiaries held a master's degree, while 30.5% had bachelor's degrees, 8.1% held doctorates and 3.7% had professional degrees such as law or medicine. Applicants receiving H-1Bs for the first time were more likely to hold doctorate or professional degrees than those extending their stay.

Highest qualification	Share of H-1B approvals
Master's degree	57.5%
Bachelor's degree	30.5%
Doctorate	8.1%
Professional degree	3.7%

The paycheques are getting bigger too

Compensation for H-1B workers continued to rise.

The median annual salary for approved H-1B beneficiaries reached $133,000 in FY2025. Workers receiving H-1Bs for initial employment reported a median annual compensation of $103,000, while those with continuing employment approvals earned a median of $142,000, reflecting higher pay as careers progress.

Among occupations, law and jurisprudence professionals earned the highest median annual compensation at more than $225,000, ahead of managers and officials ($150,000 median), miscellaneous professional and managerial occupations ($156,000) and computer-related occupations ($140,000). Education workers reported a median salary of $75,000.

Interestingly, professional degree holders earned the highest median salary at $205,000, compared with $135,000 for master's degree holders, $132,000 for bachelor's degree holders and $105,000 for doctorate holders. The report notes that professional degrees include qualifications such as law and medicine.

Median annual H-1B salary	Compensation
All beneficiaries	$133,000
Initial employment	$103,000
Continuing employment	$142,000

Highest-paying education level	Median salary
Professional degree	$205,000
Master's degree	$135,000
Bachelor's degree	$132,000
Doctorate	$105,000

One more trend to watch

Beyond FY2025, USCIS said it received 343,981 eligible H-1B registrations for FY2026, down 26.9% from 470,342 registrations for FY2025. The agency attributed much of the decline to the beneficiary-centric selection process introduced in 2024, which was designed to reduce duplicate registrations and strengthen the integrity of the H-1B lottery system.