H-1B sponsorship is the most common path for international engineers to work at a Silicon Valley tech company. The visa is employer- sponsored, lasts up to six years, and is subject to a yearly lottery with ~85,000 cap-subject slots against ~480,000 registrations. The practical answer to "does this company sponsor?" is almost always "yes if they're large enough and the role is specialty enough" — every public-company tech employer in applinity's catalog files H-1Bs regularly. The harder questions are timing, which postings are cap-subject vs transfers, and how to filter for sponsorship-friendly employers.
Which SV tech companies actually sponsor
Every established public-company tech employer in the applinity catalog files H-1Bs annually. The Department of Labor publishes Labor Condition Application (LCA) data quarterly, and the rankings are stable year over year: Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Cognizant, Infosys, Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, TCS, Wipro, IBM, Nvidia, Intel, and Oracle file the most LCAs. Among the consulting firms, the sponsorship volume is enormous but the work is staffing- company style. Among the tech employers, the sponsorship volume is proportional to overall engineering headcount.
On applinity, every company page surfaces a binary "sponsors H-1B" flag and the most recent year that company filed an approved LCA. That data updates from public USCIS disclosure feeds — it's a floor, not a ceiling. A company flagged "sponsors" almost certainly sponsors; a company flagged "no recent filings" may still sponsor for senior or specialized roles.
The H-1B cap lottery in plain English
The H-1B has two paths:
- Cap-subject (most engineers). Annual lottery for 85,000 slots: 65,000 regular + 20,000 reserved for holders of US master's degrees or higher. Registration window is roughly March 1–17 each year; selected registrations proceed to full petitions in April; approved H-1Bs activate on October 1.
- Cap-exempt. Universities, university-affiliated nonprofit research, and government research institutions can file year-round outside the lottery. A handful of industry labs operate under university affiliations.
For cap-subject H-1Bs, current odds are roughly 1 in 4 per registration. Employers can register one candidate at a time, so being in the lottery is a single coin flip — though employers can re-enter a non-selected candidate in subsequent years.
OPT and the STEM extension
Most international engineers get to their first US tech job through F-1 student status:
- OPT (12 months). Work authorization for any F-1 graduate, regardless of major. Filed with USCIS after graduation; most engineers start work during OPT.
- STEM OPT (24-month extension). For F-1 graduates of qualifying STEM degrees who continue with an E-Verify enrolled employer. Combined with the initial 12 months, this is 36 months of post-graduation work authorization.
Practically, this means an international engineer with a STEM degree typically gets 2–3 swings at the H-1B lottery during OPT. Companies that file H-1Bs reliably for their interns and new grads (Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, plus most of the AI labs) are correspondingly the safest first jobs.
How to filter for sponsorship-friendly roles
On applinity Pro:
- Toggle the H-1B sponsor filter on the jobs index or on any role-family page (e.g. software engineer). This narrows the feed to companies with recent H-1B filings.
- On each company page, the H-1B badge surfaces the most recent filing year. "Sponsors H-1B · 2025" means they had at least one approved LCA in fiscal year 2025.
- In the JD itself, look for phrases like "we sponsor", "will sponsor for qualified candidates", "visa transfer welcome". Some companies explicitly state this; others rely on the recruiter to confirm on the screen call.
Common gotchas
- "Will not sponsor" disclaimers are real. Some postings explicitly say "we do not sponsor employment visas for this role." Believe them. Federal-government contracts, defense work, and some early-stage startups can't sponsor for reasons unrelated to your qualifications.
- Startups vary wildly. Series-A/B startups frequently won't sponsor first-time H-1Bs because of cost (≈$5–10k in legal + USCIS fees) and timing. Series-C+ usually will. Always confirm with the recruiter on the first call — don't assume.
- Country-of-birth matters for green cards, not H-1B. The H-1B itself is country-agnostic. Green-card backlogs, however, are extreme for India- and China-born applicants (10+ years for EB-2/EB-3 from India). This affects long-term planning, not your first H-1B.
- "Cap-exempt" claims by employers are sometimes wrong. A startup affiliated with a university research lab may or may not actually qualify for cap-exempt H-1B status. Have your immigration attorney (the employer's, not yours) confirm in writing before you commit.
What to ask in the recruiter screen
- "Does this role sponsor H-1B?"
- "Will the company file a cap-subject petition for me this March, or are you only considering transfers / already-approved H-1Bs?"
- "What's the company's track record with green-card sponsorship — PERM filing timeline, EB-2 vs EB-3?"
- "If I'm not selected in the H-1B lottery, what's the contingency — can I work from a non-US office on a different visa, or does the offer lapse?"
Frequently asked questions
What is an H-1B visa?
The H-1B is a US non-immigrant work visa for specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree. Tech employers use it to sponsor foreign engineers, scientists, and other specialty workers. It's valid for 3 years initially and renewable to 6, with longer extensions available if a green-card process is pending.
Which Silicon Valley companies sponsor H-1B?
The largest sponsors among the applinity catalog include Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Salesforce, Cisco, Intel, Adobe, Oracle, IBM, Stripe, Databricks, Snowflake, ServiceNow, Palantir, Anthropic, OpenAI, and most other established SV employers. The full list is filterable on applinity's company search by toggling the H-1B sponsor filter.
How does the H-1B cap lottery work?
Each fiscal year, USCIS receives ~480,000+ H-1B registrations for 85,000 cap-subject slots (65,000 regular + 20,000 reserved for US master's holders). Registration opens in March for the October 1 fiscal year start. The selection is random; selected registrations then proceed to the actual petition stage in April.
Are some H-1B jobs not subject to the cap?
Yes. Universities, affiliated nonprofit research institutions, and government research organizations are cap-exempt — they can file H-1B petitions year-round without entering the lottery. Some industry research labs have cap-exempt arrangements through university affiliations.
Does Optional Practical Training (OPT) help?
OPT lets F-1 student visa holders work in the US for 12 months after graduation, with a 24-month extension available for STEM degrees. Many international engineers use STEM OPT (a total of 36 months) to enter the H-1B lottery 2–3 times before their work authorization runs out.
How can I tell if a job posting offers sponsorship?
Most postings won't say outright. The strongest signal is the company's historical sponsorship volume (visible on applinity's company pages via the H-1B sponsor flag), followed by job-page language like 'we sponsor' or 'visa transfer welcome'. Ask the recruiter directly on the first call — they should give you a clear yes/no.
What's a 'transfer' vs a 'cap petition'?
If you already hold an H-1B at another employer, a new employer can file an H-1B transfer (also called a 'change of employer' petition) without re-entering the lottery — only cap-subject first-time H-1Bs go through the March selection. Transfers usually take 1–3 months with premium processing.
What's a 'green card sponsorship' and how is it different?
An H-1B is temporary work authorization. A green card (permanent resident card) is the path to staying long-term. Tech companies that sponsor green cards typically file PERM labor certification a few years into your H-1B; the full process can take 1–10+ years depending on country of birth.
Disclaimer: this guide is general product / process information, not legal advice. For decisions about your specific case, consult a licensed immigration attorney. USCIS publishes the authoritative ruleset at uscis.gov.