Mechanical Engineers, R&D H1B Visa — Salary, Sponsors & Cities

H1B Visa Sponsorship Overview for Mechanical Engineers, R&D

Mechanical Engineers, R&D (SOC code 17-2144) is one of the occupations that U.S. employers sponsor through the H1B visa program. A total of 2,444 labor condition applications have been filed by 335 employers for this occupation across the United States. The H1B visa allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, and Mechanical Engineers, R&D positions represent a significant portion of these filings.

The average salary offered on H1B applications for Mechanical Engineers, R&D positions is $64,788, with a median of N/A. Salaries range from $11,000 to $280,800, reflecting the wide variation across experience levels, geographic locations, and prevailing wage levels.

The top H1B sponsors for Mechanical Engineers, R&D positions include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UChicago Argonne, LLC, and University of Michigan among others. These employers actively hire foreign workers for this role and submit LCA applications to the Department of Labor as part of the H1B approval process.

The most popular work locations for H1B Mechanical Engineers, R&D positions include Cambridge, MA and Richland, WA. Location significantly impacts both salary offers and the applicable prevailing wage, making geographic analysis crucial for H1B applicants and employers.

Massachusetts leads H1B filings for this occupation with 257 applications, followed by California and Illinois. View Mechanical Engineers, R&D H1B data in Massachusetts for state-level details.

Top H1B Sponsors for Mechanical Engineers, R&D

These employers have filed the most H1B applications for Mechanical Engineers, R&D positions. Click any employer to view their full H1B sponsorship profile.

#	Employer	State	LCAs	Avg Salary	Market Median	vs Market
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	187	$56,706	N/A	N/A
2	UChicago Argonne, LLC	IL	76	$85,661	N/A	N/A
3	University of Michigan	MI	75	$62,806	N/A	N/A
4	The Trustees of Princeton University	NJ	72	$57,174	N/A	N/A
5	The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC	CO	58	$69,539	N/A	N/A
6	Georgia Institute of Technology	GA	51	$70,878	N/A	N/A
7	Wichita State University	KS	50	$63,230	N/A	N/A
8	Battelle	WA	49	$77,189	N/A	N/A
9	UT-BATTELLE, LLC - Oak Ridge National Laboratory	TN	43	$108,658	N/A	N/A
10	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	NY	42	$51,661	N/A	N/A
11	University of Minnesota	MN	37	$50,344	N/A	N/A
12	Battelle Memorial Institute	WA	34	$100,896	N/A	N/A
13	Fermi Research Alliance, LLC	IL	34	$74,083	N/A	N/A
14	Purdue University	IN	34	$58,623	N/A	N/A
15	University of Maryland, College Park	MD	31	$64,501	N/A	N/A
16	Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC	ID	30	$101,415	N/A	N/A
17	The Ohio State University	OH	30	$72,160	N/A	N/A
18	University of California, Berkeley	CA	30	$62,815	N/A	N/A
19	Brookhaven National Laboratory	NY	29	$116,688	N/A	N/A
20	University of Wyoming	WY	28	$50,782	N/A	N/A

Mechanical Engineers, R&D H1B Salary by City

H1B salaries for Mechanical Engineers, R&D vary significantly by metro area. The table below shows the top cities with their average offered salary and how it compares to the local BLS median.

#	City	LCAs	Employers	Avg Salary	Local BLS Median	vs Local Market
1	Cambridge, MA	200	7	$56,865	N/A	N/A
2	Richland, WA	80	3	$84,243	N/A	N/A
3	Ann Arbor, MI	76	5	$64,893	N/A	N/A
4	Princeton, NJ	73	2	$57,418	N/A	N/A
5	Oak Ridge, TN	69	2	$90,905	N/A	N/A
6	Lemont, IL	68	2	$85,599	N/A	N/A
7	Berkeley, CA	56	2	$76,863	N/A	N/A
8	Wichita, KS	52	3	$62,318	N/A	N/A
9	Atlanta, GA	51	3	$68,281	N/A	N/A
10	Golden, CO	50	2	$63,969	N/A	N/A
11	Troy, NY	42	1	$51,661	N/A	N/A
12	Batavia, IL	36	2	$73,762	N/A	N/A
13	Minneapolis, MN	36	1	$50,409	N/A	N/A
14	Menlo Park, CA	34	5	$108,327	N/A	N/A
15	West Lafayette, IN	33	1	$58,486	N/A	N/A
16	Boulder, CO	32	3	$53,626	N/A	N/A
17	College Station, TX	32	5	$49,484	N/A	N/A
18	Columbus, OH	32	2	$73,346	N/A	N/A
19	Laramie, WY	29	2	$51,187	N/A	N/A
20	Upton, NY	29	1	$116,688	N/A	N/A

Mechanical Engineers, R&D H1B Data by State

#	State	LCAs	Employers	Avg Salary	BLS State Median
1	Massachusetts	257	19	$57,008	N/A
2	California	247	50	$78,813	N/A
3	Illinois	177	14	$69,513	N/A
4	Michigan	144	17	$63,393	N/A
5	Texas	136	31	$58,443	N/A
6	New York	123	25	$67,917	N/A
7	Colorado	103	8	$61,407	N/A
8	Washington	94	6	$81,162	N/A
9	Tennessee	85	6	$84,706	N/A
10	New Jersey	79	5	$58,628	N/A

Prevailing Wage Levels for Mechanical Engineers, R&D

The Department of Labor assigns prevailing wage levels (I through IV) to H1B positions based on experience and skill requirements. Level I represents entry-level positions, while Level IV indicates expert-level roles. Understanding wage levels is critical for both employers and H1B workers.

Wage Level	LCAs	% of Total	Avg Salary	Min Salary	Max Salary
I	167	17.5%	$63,862	$31,242	$113,500
II	92	9.6%	$87,128	$45,261	$155,000
III	105	11.0%	$98,378	$45,000	$162,053
IV	45	4.7%	$124,986	$68,000	$230,950
Level I	301	31.6%	$54,743	$39,250	$107,037
Level II	113	11.8%	$69,319	$36,200	$120,578
Level III	103	10.8%	$80,673	$49,440	$130,000
Level IV	28	2.9%	$99,590	$54,517	$193,640