You do not need to be on a visa for this to help. H-1B filings are among the few places where U.S. employers publish what they pay for specific roles, and anyone can use them to see whether a base salary offer looks low. Here is how we would do it.
1. Start with the employer
Search for the company and find your job title in its filings. Look at the same or a similar title in a recent year, and note the range. If the company has several legal entities, check each of them. A single filing means little, so we would want at least ten for the same title before drawing a conclusion.
2. Check the title across employers
Next, open the job title page to see what other employers file for it. This tells you whether the company pays above or below the market for that title, which the first step cannot show.
3. Match the location
Location moves pay a lot. Software developer filings have a median of $187,741 in California and $126,000 in Texas, so a national figure can mislead you. Filter to your state or metro area.
4. Account for how the filing was made
Different kinds of filing carry different wages. In FY2026 through June, the median certified wage was $116,000 on filings marked as new employment, $132,784 on continuing employment and $135,000 for people changing employers. A filing can carry more than one of these marks. The kinds of workers differ, so the gap is no promise of a raise, but it does suggest that the numbers for experienced hires can run above those for first filings.
5. Compare base to base
Filings cover base pay only. Take the base salary from your offer and compare that, leaving out any bonus and stock, then think about those separately. If your base is well under the median for your title, employer and city, you have a specific, public number to bring to a negotiation.
What the data cannot tell you is your level. Two people with the same title can be years apart in experience, and filings show neither their experience nor their performance. Our skills pages show what employers ask for by job family, which helps you judge where you sit. For more on reading the records, see how to read an H-1B salary record.