We now have Quarter 4 H1B visa FY 2023 data and Quarter 4 PERM visa FY 2023 data and Quarter 4 H2A visa FY 2023 data.
Employer Search tool is moved to it's own page: "H1B Visa Data Search Tool"

Illinois Foreign Labor Visa Stats (All Years)

Total Visas % of all Visas Average Wage Visa Type
328,359 91.53% $77,136 H-1B
25,222 7.03% $170,962 PERM
3,529 0.98% $97,739 E-3 Australian
1,637 0.46% $32,808 H-2A

As of May 2023, Illinois has seen a total of 358,747 visa workers across all visa types. The most common visa class in Illinois is the H-1B visa with 328,359 H-1B visas on record over all years accounting for 91.53% of Illinois's total visas. The second most prevalent visa is the PERM visa with 25,222 PERM visas on record over all years accounting for 7.03% of Illinois's total visas.

Top Occupations in Illinois (All Years)

Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Public Relations Specialists 158 $45,028 77.83%
Mental Health Counselors 158 $42,947 81.87%
Purchasing Managers 158 $93,088 83.16%
Microbiologists 157 $49,063 83.51%
Social Science Research Assistants 155 $39,840 83.33%
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary 147 $47,895 79.89%
Veterinarians 147 $63,786 80.77%
Education Administrators, Postsecondary 146 $68,214 81.56%
Natural Sciences Managers 144 $103,852 84.21%
Instructional Coordinators 144 $44,914 84.71%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary 22 $47,348 48.89%
Natural Sciences Managers 22 $100,260 48.89%
Communications Teachers, Postsecondary 22 $40,100 50.00%
Compliance Officers 21 $64,936 47.73%
Bakers 20 $27,822 45.45%
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 20 $58,307 46.51%
Materials Engineers 19 $78,687 45.24%
Paralegals and Legal Assistants 19 $48,545 46.34%
Pediatricians, General 18 $90,109 43.90%
Veterinarians 18 $73,070 43.90%
Illinois Employees Over Time
Illinois has been in the H1B Visa program since 2011 where 14,981 employees were hired. Illinois peaked in 2016 with 29,364 employees, and has since been on a decline with the most recent number of employees being 3,790 in 2025.

Top Countries with Workers in Illinois From PERM Program (All Years)

Country # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Malaysia 42 $80,071 43.30%
Romania 39 $66,151 40.63%
Argentina 37 $92,319 40.66%
Israel 37 $96,174 42.53%
Bulgaria 36 $55,569 47.37%
Ireland 33 $97,105 44.59%
Serbia 32 $69,004 45.07%
Venezuela 32 $85,066 49.23%
South Africa 27 $88,035 42.86%
United States Of America 26 $74,212 41.27%

Top Hiring Companies in Illinois (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Polar Operations Llc Dba Imc Markets 16 $108,863 88.89%
Appsboat Inc 16 $84,614 88.89%
Technocrats Domain Inc 16 $100,469 88.89%
Federal Reserve Bank Of Chicago 16 $113,196 88.89%
Chime Financial Inc 16 $118,002 88.89%
Bmo Bank Na 16 $121,150 94.12%
Cogent Healthcare Of Illinois Llc 16 $148,456 94.12%
Riverside Healthcare 16 $193,844 94.12%
Schrill Technologies Inc 15 $69,426 88.24%
Savin Technologies Inc 15 $81,234 88.24%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Villa Oaks Llc 1 $70,637 33.33%
Meridian Hospice Dba Advocate Hospice 1 $86,528 33.33%
Shamsa Inc 1 $33,883 33.33%
Pearson Coal Petrography 1 $75,213 33.33%
Lmt Onsrud 1 $73,216 33.33%
Opus Fund Services 1 $88,462 33.33%
Our Church Of Chicago 1 $45,053 33.33%
Naperville Yuhllin Church 1 $24,627 33.33%
Vocational Rehabilitation Management Of Rockford 1 $42,661 33.33%
Pan Oceanic Engineering Co Inc 1 $86,297 33.33%

Top Industries in Illinois (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services 116,575 $72,225 89.53%
Computer Systems Design Services 25,137 $80,325 93.26%
Management Scientific And Technical Consulting Services 16,562 $77,011 94.84%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools 11,398 $54,276 76.57%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services 9,122 $76,904 88.80%
Engineering Services 8,170 $68,289 89.11%
Administrative Management And General Management Consulting Services 7,423 $90,400 95.02%
Offices Of Certified Public Accountants 7,280 $79,797 97.59%
Management Consulting Services 6,136 $77,593 96.49%
Other Computer Related Services 5,387 $75,637 89.10%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Farm Labor Contractors And Crew Leaders 554 $33,460 100.00%
Crop Harvesting Primarily By Machine 165 $32,363 100.00%
Support Activities For Crop Production 143 $43,304 100.00%
Vegetable And Melon Farming 142 $33,833 100.00%
Oilseed And Grain Combination Farming 92 $33,609 100.00%
Oilseed And Grain Farming 88 $33,424 100.00%
Other Crop Farming 80 $35,201 100.00%
Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming 67 $27,172 100.00%
Greenhouse Nursery And Floriculture Production 65 $36,532 100.00%
Nursery And Tree Production 43 $32,847 100.00%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services 11,847 $173,113 100.00%
Computer Systems Design Services 2,627 $91,387 100.00%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services 2,027 $93,058 100.00%
Management Scientific And Technical Consulting Services 1,876 $84,379 100.00%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools 1,827 $52,397 100.00%
Other Computer Related Services 1,449 $85,961 100.00%
Administrative Management And General Management Consulting Services 1,380 $99,680 100.00%
Engineering Services 1,253 $410,290 100.00%
General Freight Trucking 817 $54,041 100.00%
Management Consulting Services 762 $99,261 100.00%

Illinois Wage Comparison to Other States (All Years)

The chart below compares The average wage in Illinois to that of the top 9 states with the highest overall average H1-B wage. The average wage in Illinois over all years is $77,136. The state with the highest average wage of H1-B workers for all states is CA with an average wage of $104,510.

State Avg Wage