Data Engineer at Microsoft — H-1B Wage Level, PERM Record & Green Card Timeline

By Pinal Dave | Last updated: 2026-08-03

Direct answer

A Data Engineer hired by Microsoft in the U.S. on an H-1B typically follows the same modeled path: Microsoft files a Labor Condition Application (LCA) at a specific DOL wage level, USCIS adjudicates the H-1B petition, Microsoft later files a PERM labor certification to start the green card process, and — once PERM and the I-140 are approved — the applicant's chargeability country determines how long they wait for a visa number under the Visa Bulletin before filing Form I-485. Based on FY2025 DOL OFLC disclosure data, Microsoft certified 9,275 certified LCAs with an average proffered wage of $172,325 against an average certified prevailing wage of $135,421 — offered wage runs 27.3% above the average certified prevailing wage on file. Microsoft's top disclosed LCA titles for FY2025 did not isolate a line item literally labeled "Data Engineer"; the closest disclosed title family is used as a proxy below and this page's wage/volume figures should be read as company-wide, role-family benchmarks rather than a title-exact cut. This is flagged needs-review in the page metadata.

LCA wage & filing data (DOL OFLC, FY2025)

Source: DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) LCA disclosure data, FY2025 filings, aggregated via myvisajobs.com employer profile pages. Data as of 2026-08-03. Wage-level (I–IV) breakdown by percentage was not independently re-pulled from flag.dol.gov for this page and is flagged needs-review; the average proffered-vs-prevailing gap above is the best verified proxy for how aggressively Microsoft is bidding above the wage floor.

PERM record

Source: DOL OFLC PERM Program disclosure data, FY2024, as analyzed by tryalma.com (published August 2025) — the most recent consolidated median-processing-time figure publicly available at time of writing. Employer-specific PERM audit rate and median days-to-certification are not broken out by employer in the public disclosure extract we reviewed; national OFLC medians are used as the best verifiable proxy and this line is flagged needs-review.

USCIS H-1B approval & denial record

Source: USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, FY2025, as compiled in the NFAP Policy Brief "H-1B Petitions and Denial Rates for FY 2025" (National Foundation for American Policy, November 2025). National denial-rate trend: initial-employment 2.8% in FY2025 vs. 2.5% in FY2024; continuing-employment 1.9% in FY2025 vs. 1.8% in FY2024.

Visa Bulletin: current EB-2/EB-3 wait by chargeability (August 2026)

Source: U.S. Department of State, August 2026 Visa Bulletin (Final Action Dates, Employment-Based), as summarized by Fragomen and BAL Immigration News. Country of chargeability is generally the applicant's country of birth, not Microsoft's headquarters or worksite location — select your actual chargeability country when modeling your own timeline.

USCIS processing times

Source: USCIS processing-time data (egov.uscis.gov) as tracked and summarized by manifestlaw.com, data as of July 2026.

Modeled timeline: offer → LCA → PERM → I-140 → priority date → I-485

1. Offer & LCA (Day 0–7). Microsoft certifies an LCA at the wage level matching the Data Engineer req's SOC code and metro area — for Microsoft, that average proffered wage is $172,325.
2. H-1B petition (1–6 months, or 15 business days with premium processing). USCIS adjudicates the H-1B cap-subject or cap-exempt petition; Microsoft's FY2025 approval data shows a denial rate around 0.4%.
3. PERM labor certification (median ~472 calendar days (~15.5 months) to certification nationally). Microsoft tests the labor market for the Data Engineer position; if selected for audit, add several additional months — DOL OFLC PERM Program disclosure data does not break out Microsoft's individual audit rate, so we use the national median and flag employer-specific PERM speed as needs-review.
4. I-140 immigrant petition (~3.7 months median). Once PERM is certified, Microsoft files the I-140; premium processing (15 business days for most EB-2/EB-3, 45 business days for EB-2 NIW) can compress this step.
5. Priority date & Visa Bulletin wait (variable — the biggest swing factor). The applicant's priority date (their PERM filing date) must become current under the August 2026 Visa Bulletin final action dates shown above before Form I-485 can be filed. For EB-2 India this cutoff is currently Unavailable (U); for EB-3 India it is January 1, 2014 — meaning applicants with later priority dates in either category are waiting years, and the exact number of years depends on how quickly the Department of State advances the cutoff in future bulletins.
6. I-485 adjustment of status (8.5 to 36.5 months). Once current, I-485 is filed and adjudicated; work/travel authorization (EAD/AP) is typically available well before the I-485 itself is approved.

How Microsoft compares to sibling employers on this track

For applicants weighing offers, it helps to see Microsoft's LCA/PERM profile next to comparable employers on VisaSherpa.ai:

• Data Engineer At Meta
• Data Engineer At Google
• Devops Engineer At Microsoft
• Software Engineer At Amazon

FAQs

Q: Does Microsoft sponsor H-1B visas for Data Engineer roles?

Yes. DOL OFLC LCA disclosure data shows Microsoft filed 9,275 certified LCAs in the most recent fiscal year covered by the disclosure files, with job titles closely tied to data engineer work among its filings (see the table above). LCA filing is a required first step before an H-1B petition is submitted to USCIS, so certified-LCA volume is a strong proxy for how actively an employer is hiring on H-1B in a given role family.

Q: What does Microsoft pay a Data Engineer on H-1B?

The average certified H-1B proffered wage across Microsoft's FY2025 LCA filings is $172,325, against an average certified prevailing wage of $135,421 (offered wage runs 27.3% above the average certified prevailing wage on file). Actual pay for a specific Data Engineer req depends on the wage level (I-IV) assigned on that LCA and the metro area, so treat the company-wide average as a directional benchmark, not a quote for any single role.

Q: How long does the green card process take after a Data Engineer offer from Microsoft?

Modeled end-to-end: PERM labor certification currently runs a median of 472 calendar days (~15.5 months) to certification nationally, I-140 regular processing adds roughly 3.7 months median (regular processing, FY2026 through May 31); premium processing is 15 business days for standard I-140s and 45 business days for EB-2 NIW, and then the wait is governed by the Visa Bulletin cutoff for the applicant's chargeability country before I-485 filing is possible. For EB-3 India that queue alone is currently years long (see the Visa Bulletin table below) — Microsoft-specific case data on PERM certification speed is not separately broken out in public disclosure files, so we use the national OFLC median.

Q: Is Microsoft an H-1B-dependent employer?

Based on the most recent disclosure snapshot, Microsoft is not flagged as H-1B-dependent in the public employer profile we reviewed, though dependency status is recalculated periodically by DOL and can change. H-1B-dependent employers face additional attestation and recruitment requirements under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Q: What is Microsoft's H-1B denial rate?

USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub figures compiled in the NFAP FY2025 policy brief show Microsoft with roughly 1,394 initial-employment approvals in FY2025 and a denial rate of about 0.4%.

Q: Does the EB-2/EB-3 choice change the wait for a Data Engineer at Microsoft?

Often yes. EB-3 is currently ahead of EB-2 for India (EB-3 final action January 1, 2014 vs. EB-2 Unavailable (U)) in the August 2026 Visa Bulletin, so India-chargeability Data Engineers sometimes benefit from a strategic "downgrade" to EB-3 if their PERM was filed at that level, or from concurrent filing strategies their immigration counsel evaluates case by case.

Model your own Data Engineer → green card timeline

VisaSherpa.ai's AI immigration planner takes your actual priority date, chargeability country, and employer to build a personalized version of the timeline above — including how PERM audit risk, EB-2-to-EB-3 downgrade strategy, and Visa Bulletin movement could change your specific wait.