Visa
H-1B salaries and sponsorship, from 1,628 certified filings (FY2025–FY2026)
- Activities Related to Credit Intermediation
- Headquarters: San Francisco, San Mateo, Foster City, Mission Rock
- Founded 1958
- 31,600 employees (2024)
- New York Stock Exchange: V
- Includes 2 legal entities
At a glance
- Visa hires at the expert level. 57% of its filings are Level IV, 3.2 times the share across all H-1B employers (18%).
- Most filed: Software Engineer. 36% of its filings. After that come Systems Engineer / Architect and Data Scientist.
- Pays at a high floor. 62% of filings are at exactly the prevailing wage, which at Visa's jobs and locations has a median of $137,259.
- 5th among the largest filers in its industry. Visa's median ($144,903) is below Stripe and The Depository Trust and Clearing and above CyberSource.
Is your Visa offer competitive?
Enter the base salary in your offer. We compare it with Visa's certified filings for the same job.
Enter a salary to see where it falls.
Percentiles from Visa's certified H-1B filings, base salary only. Jobs with at least 10 filings.
What Visa hires for
Bar: share of Visa's filings. Figure: median base salary. Top 10 jobs account for 89% of filings (32 occupations in total).
Show all 18 jobs
| Job | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $149,500 | 588 |
| Systems Engineer / Architect | $143,200 | 363 |
| Data Scientist | $144,144 | 153 |
| QA Engineer | $129,854 | 124 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $141,523 | 48 |
| Information Security Analyst | $148,289 | 44 |
| Management Consultant | $141,856 | 43 |
| Research Scientist (Computer Science) | $155,300 | 30 |
| Network Administrator | $124,178 | 30 |
| IT Manager | $217,568 | 27 |
| Project Manager | $143,700 | 27 |
| Data Engineer | $151,070 | 21 |
| Financial Analyst | $142,958 | 20 |
| Database Administrator | $134,368 | 17 |
| Network Architect | $159,100 | 15 |
| UX Designer | $138,500 | 13 |
| Systems Analyst | $132,548 | 12 |
| Marketing Manager | $195,562 | 11 |
Jobs with at least 10 filings at Visa.
Pay by level
Entry-level · 1% of filings
Mid-level · 28% of filings
Senior · 13% of filings
Expert · 57% of filings
Level medians mix different jobs, so a higher level can show a lower median. Within one job, pay rises with level.
Show the table
By experience level
| Wage level | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level · Level I | $123,700 | 19 |
| Mid-level · Level II | $117,021 | 415 |
| Senior · Level III | $138,649 | 194 |
| Expert · Level IV | $161,886 | 831 |
Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.
Visa vs. industry peers
SoFi$200,000
PayPal$174,720
Stripe$161,800
The Depository Trust and Clearing$148,600
Visa$144,903
CyberSource$141,751
Mastercard$131,706
Median base salary, all jobs, FY2025–FY2026. Largest H-1B filers with the same industry code (NAICS 5223).
Where Visa files
Median base salary in each metro area. Rent: HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027.
Show all 9 metro areas
| Metro area | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Austin, TX | $139,800 | 702 |
| San Francisco, CA | $163,613 | 491 |
| Denver, CO | $130,686 | 154 |
| Atlanta, GA | $127,504 | 90 |
| Washington, DC | $146,776 | 78 |
| New York, NY | $153,373 | 34 |
| Seattle, WA | $157,481 | 32 |
| Miami, FL | $129,730 | 17 |
| Cleveland, OH | $97,926 | 11 |
Salary details
Salary range
| Percentile | Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $110,827 |
| 25th | $126,386 |
| 50th (median) | $144,903 |
| 75th | $163,550 |
| 90th | $186,800 |
Salary by year
Median salary
Filings per year
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Median | P25 | P75 | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $112,195 | $98,000 | $128,793 | 918 |
| FY2021 | $110,677 | $98,100 | $128,200 | 771 |
| FY2022 | $121,600 | $103,400 | $133,786 | 1,276 |
| FY2023 | $130,800 | $109,990 | $143,187 | 921 |
| FY2024 | $133,806 | $114,442 | $148,450 | 906 |
| FY2025 | $141,523 | $124,700 | $160,600 | 1,046 |
| FY2026 | $152,200 | $131,600 | $169,100 | 582 |
Pay vs. prevailing wage
Filing at exactly the prevailing wage does not mean low pay: at senior levels and in high-cost areas the prevailing wage itself is high.
By legal entity
| Legal entity | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Visa Technology & Operations LLC | $143,790 | 897 |
| Visa U.S.A. Inc. | $144,903 | 731 |
Visa files under several company names; this page adds them up. Median shown at 10+ filings.
Job titles at Visa
| Job title | Median | Middle 50% | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Sw Engineer | $141,751 | $131.6k–$155.7k | 176 |
| Software Engineer Senior Consultant Level | $162,762 | $155.7k–$163.6k | 103 |
| Senior Sw Engineer | $117,021 | $109.3k–$131.6k | 101 |
| Director | $180,350 | $174.9k–$192.3k | 88 |
| Senior Site Reliability Engineer | $108,826 | $105.8k–$111.9k | 53 |
| Senior Software Engineer | $117,311 | $109.3k–$128.4k | 46 |
| Senior Manager | $163,457 | $152.2k–$179.4k | 42 |
| Senior Data Engineer | $129,400 | $123k–$137.4k | 41 |
| Staff Site Reliability Engineer | $132,943 | $125.4k–$139.4k | 40 |
| Staff Data Engineer | $155,709 | $146.2k–$170.5k | 37 |
| Data Scientist | $116,500 | $110k–$123.7k | 34 |
| Senior Director | $213,000 | $200k–$226.9k | 33 |
| Lead Sw Engineer | $173,100 | $163.6k–$173.6k | 30 |
| Senior Data Scientist | $155,300 | $139.8k–$166.9k | 29 |
| Senior Product Manager | $163,363 | $149.2k–$173.6k | 29 |
Show 18 more
| Job title | Median | Middle 50% | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Software Engineer | $147,580 | $137.1k–$155.7k | 26 |
| Product Manager | $141,873 | $124.7k–$147k | 24 |
| Manager | $132,300 | $129k–$137k | 22 |
| Staff Systems Engineer | $136,989 | $131.6k–$148.2k | 21 |
| Senior ML Engineer | $130,700 | $116.5k–$132.9k | 20 |
| Data Scientist Senior Consultant Level | $188,885 | $164.7k–$194.8k | 19 |
| Senior Cybersecurity Engineer | $145,300 | $139.8k–$161.4k | 19 |
| Staff Sw Test Engineer | $125,632 | $124.9k–$142.1k | 19 |
| Staff Research Scientist | $169,100 | $156.1k–$171k | 18 |
| Data Engineer Senior Consultant Level | $174,533 | $163.6k–$193.2k | 16 |
| Software Test Engineer Senior Consultant Level | $136,552 | $128k–$152.9k | 16 |
| Cyber Security Engineer Senior Consultant Level | $162,500 | $157.9k–$174.5k | 14 |
| Site Reliability Engineer Senior Consultant Level | $159,630 | $143.3k–$163.6k | 14 |
| Staff ML Scientist | $144,144 | $139.8k–$152.2k | 12 |
| Senior Staff Sw Engineer | $160,600 | $160.3k–$173.1k | 11 |
| Senior Technical Program Manager | $150,720 | $143.2k–$170k | 10 |
| Staff ML Engineer | $145,900 | $139.8k–$154.5k | 10 |
| Technical Program Manager | $138,965 | $132.9k–$148.5k | 10 |
Job titles as written on the filings, with at least 10 filings. Middle 50%: 25th–75th percentile.
About Visa
Visa's filings list its industry as Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (Finance and Insurance sector, NAICS 5223). Its main U.S. filing address is in Foster City, CA and its filings in the data run from FY2020 to FY2026 Q3. In the latest two fiscal years, the most filed jobs are Software Engineer, Systems Engineer / Architect and Data Scientist and the main metro areas are Austin, TX, San Francisco, CA and Denver, CO. The most common wage level in those years is Level IV (expert).
- Founded
- 1958
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, San Mateo, Foster City, Mission Rock
- Employees
- 31,600 (2024)
- Website
- corporate.visa.com
- Stock
- New York Stock Exchange: V
Company facts on this page: Wikidata. Salary data: U.S. Department of Labor.
Questions
Does Visa sponsor H-1B visas?
Yes. Visa filed 1,628 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications in FY2025–FY2026, the latest two fiscal years. The most recent filing in the data is from FY2026 Q3. A certified LCA is a step before the H-1B petition; it is not a visa approval.
How much does Visa pay H-1B workers?
The median base salary on Visa's H-1B filings is $144,903; half of filings fall between $126,386 and $163,550. Bonus and stock are not included.