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 %
Software Developers, Applications 57,428 $82,137 91.17%
Computer Systems Analysts 43,588 $70,026 93.01%
Computer Programmers 26,288 $60,399 90.11%
Computer Occupations, All Other 16,306 $71,696 93.08%
Software Developers, Systems Software 7,938 $88,370 89.92%
Management Analysts 7,810 $82,130 93.16%
Mechanical Engineers 6,594 $71,571 89.11%
Operations Research Analysts 5,558 $76,494 82.81%
Accountants and Auditors 5,354 $60,254 89.16%
Computer and Information Systems Managers 4,120 $129,163 71.89%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse 690 $32,565 279.35%
Agricultural Equipment Operators 512 $33,920 312.20%
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop 126 $31,623 78.26%
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals 46 $35,314 54.12%
Construction Laborers 26 $41,537 33.33%
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 21 $52,506 28.38%
Nursery Workers 11 $31,085 16.18%
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers 10 $64,395 16.39%
Helpers--Carpenters 8 $37,359 14.04%
Carpenters 4 $53,984 7.14%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Software Developers, Applications 6,694 $201,689 117.11%
Computer Systems Analysts 1,698 $445,103 79.64%
Computer Occupations, All Other 941 $95,453 46.72%
Software Developers, Systems Software 687 $98,111 74.19%
Computer and Information Systems Managers 657 $129,876 107.88%
Management Analysts 597 $101,971 102.05%
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 569 $53,257 124.24%
Statisticians 514 $68,476 120.66%
Accountants and Auditors 480 $74,291 112.94%
Mechanical Engineers 382 $79,406 102.14%
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 %
Wonderlic Inc 8 $81,234 88.89%
Pinckneyville Community Hospital 8 $48,186 88.89%
Pana Community Hospital 8 $80,585 88.89%
Columbia Sussex Management Llc 8 $45,804 88.89%
Fca Us Llc 8 $68,953 88.89%
Inswan Home Health Agency Ltd 8 $52,593 88.89%
True World Foods Chicago Llc 8 $45,861 88.89%
Monda Industrials Llc 8 $53,144 88.89%
Textura Corporation 8 $49,169 88.89%
Ww Engineering Company Llc 8 $54,405 88.89%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

Top Industries in Illinois (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Power Boiler And Heat Exchanger Manufacturing 2 $66,040 100.00%
All Other Wood Product Manufacturing 2 $39,832 100.00%
Photographic Services 2 $70,502 100.00%
Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation 2 $96,835 100.00%
Motor Vehicle Body And Trailer Manufacturing 2 $71,719 100.00%
Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing 2 $75,743 100.00%
Explosives Manufacturing 2 $90,210 100.00%
Special Needs Transportation 2 $84,896 100.00%
Fire Protection 2 $50,836 100.00%
Ready Mix Concrete Manufacturing 2 $57,533 100.00%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

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