[MaxwellM]

Lynn, FYI - these numbers reported to the DoL are not necessarily accurate and thus should only be used as a ballpark estimate. They are likely to be overestimates of actual numbers.

Having seen H1B document submitted to the DoL, I know that firms misrepresent these numbers. An H1B is granted to immigrants for positions that ostensibly couldn't be filled by US citizens, this is rarely the case. Firms have to show that a job application was life for a certain amount of time and they were unable to fill it.

Finally they need to claim that because the position is so hard to fill, they are willing to pay above prevailing wage. See H1B LCA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-1B_visa#Labor_Condition_Appli...

They however do not need to prove that the claimed wage is what is actually being paid. These numbers are thus overestimates and I would guess >10% off the mark.

That said, it is obviously illegal to misrepresent these numbers and some firms are more scrupulous than others.

[pslam]

Do you have a basis in fact for any of this?

I, like the other replies here, had the exact salary which my H1B Visa application represented to the DoL. It is illegal to misrepresent this, so in order for the prevailing wage to be misrepresented by 10%, the vast majority of H1B Visas would need to be illegally submitted.

Edit: The application also includes a representative sample (or exact numbers of the last few employees) of others who were hired into a similar position. This includes non-H1B employees.

[untog]

As an H1B employee, I can assure you that the amount on my LCA was the same as I was paid. That said, it is important that people understand what these figures are - they are not actual technically salaries.

[johnward]

"That said, it is important that people understand what these figures are - they are not actual technically salaries."

Can you explain?

[untog]

The Wikipedia article probably does a better job than I do, but the LCA is a company submitting what they plan to pay an employee when they hire them. As far as I am aware, if I get a pay rise the company does not need to resubmit an LCA.

[dpritchett]

Imperfect data is still useful in a negotiation. Present it with minimal comment as a negotiating point and let the counterparty poke holes in it if they so choose. Don't undermine yourself!

Sure the large tech employers are going to have better salary databases than an individual, but that doesn't mean there's no point in trying to arm yourself with relevant info.

[kelukelugames]

The numbers match everything I've gathered from talking to employees, my own paystubs, and job offers I got this year.

I also know foreign co-workers who always report their current pay when job hunting because they have looked themselves up on similar sites.

[vskarine]

Actually, in practice I've seen totally opposite of what you mentioned. Companies do not want to reveal real salaries so they apply and report LOWER salaries than what it actually is and then when person joins they adjust it to be higher. This way company still complies with law but does not disclose real salary.

[cedsav]

You have to meet or exceed prevailing wages for the area/position. The reason is to make sure you're not underpaying foreign workers at the expense of local US candidates.

We sponsored H1B applicants in the past, and the numbers were reviewed by the lawyer who took care of the application. We also had to post the opening notice internally, with the salary offered. And finally, as others have stated, the number is known by the sponsored employee, so there's really no incentive to inflate that number.

[hungrygs]

Yes, but if you hire software engineers and label them as computer programmers (see my post here), employers completely side step the "meet or exceed prevailing wages" requirement.

In fairness, blue chip US tech companies don't do that.

[badusername]

Overestimates seems to be a wrong label, having gone through several H1B visa and transfer applications myself. I would say that most lawyers simply fill in the actual amount.

[curiousDog]

Again, you're conflating body-shopping/consuling/outsourcing companies with Google/microsof et al. None of the latter pull shit like that.

[jsnk]

Not sure which firms you worked with, but from my experience, all the numbers I've seen are accurate down to the last dollar digit.

There's simply no incentive for any party involved to misrepresent the figure. Why would companies, foreign employees or lawyers ever change the number when they have nothing to gain but expose themselves to incredible risk by doing so?