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 %
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Cashiers 8 $18,801 34.78%
Cooks, Private Household 8 $27,924 34.78%
Stonemasons 8 $50,471 36.36%
Insurance Sales Agents 8 $52,555 36.36%
First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers 8 $34,403 36.36%
Mechanical Engineering Technicians 8 $63,222 36.36%
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians 7 $85,042 31.82%
Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists 7 $50,826 31.82%
Biological Technicians 7 $37,045 31.82%
Painters, Construction and Maintenance 7 $55,860 31.82%
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 %
Brightsharks Engineering Services Llc 15 $70,997 93.75%
Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation 15 $69,204 93.75%
Nokia Inc 15 $72,088 93.75%
Mars Information Services Inc 15 $117,260 93.75%
Spinecraft Llc 15 $81,956 93.75%
Launchpoint Ventures Llc 14 $76,694 87.50%
Cloudera Inc 14 $117,714 87.50%
Loyola University Chicago Lake Shore Campus 14 $69,123 87.50%
Belcan Engineering Group 14 $66,909 87.50%
Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital 14 $65,355 87.50%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Chicago Zomi Community Church 1 $25,854 50.00%
Mg Waldbaum Company 1 $60,008 50.00%
Rogers Park Montessori School 1 $33,460 50.00%
La Brothers Construction Corp 1 $45,302 50.00%
United States Alliance Fire Protection Inc 1 $67,621 50.00%
Wilson Dow Group Inc 1 $160,098 50.00%
Elements Global Services 1 $115,482 50.00%
Quality Excavation Inc 1 $44,013 50.00%
Shakti 7 Inc 1 $53,456 50.00%
Monterrey Security Consultants Inc 1 $34,486 50.00%

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