Visa Requirements

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

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

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

A DevOps Engineer hired by Cognizant in the U.S. on an H-1B typically follows the same modeled path: Cognizant files an LCA at a specific DOL wage level, USCIS adjudicates the H-1B petition, Cognizant later files a PERM labor certification, and the applicant's chargeability country determines the Visa Bulletin wait before I-485 filing. Based on FY2025 DOL OFLC disclosure data, Cognizant certified 11,091 LCAs with an average proffered wage of $111,593 against an average certified prevailing wage of $99,063 — offered wage runs 12.6% above prevailing.

MetricCognizant
Certified LCAs (FY2025)11,091
Average H-1B proffered wage$111,593
Average certified prevailing wage$99,063
Top disclosed job titlesManager JC50 - Computer Systems Engineers/Architects (10,104 cumulative), Senior Associate JC60 (6,122), Manager JC50 general (4,307), Senior Manager JC45 (2,847)
Top worksitesPlano, TX (1,902), Charlotte, NC (1,223), Hartford, CT (1,176), Irving, TX (1,041)
PERM labor certifications filed0 in FY2025 (10,359 cumulatively since 2017)
FY2025 initial-employment approvals743 (down from 2,873 in FY2024)
FY2025 denial rate4%

Sources: DOL OFLC LCA disclosure data (via myvisajobs.com), FY2025; DOL OFLC PERM disclosure data (via tryalma.com), FY2024 (national median 472 days); USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub via NFAP Nov 2025; U.S. Dept of State August 2026 Visa Bulletin; USCIS processing times via manifestlaw.com, July 2026. Data as of 2026-08-03. "DevOps Engineer" is not a top-5 disclosed LCA title for Cognizant; figures are company-wide role-family benchmarks (needs-review).

Visa Bulletin (August 2026): EB-2 India Unavailable (U) / China Sept 1 2021 / ROW Current. EB-3 India Jan 1 2014 / China Jan 1 2022 / ROW Sept 1 2024.

USCIS processing times: I-140 ~3.7 months median regular (15 business days premium); I-485 employment-based 8.5–36.5 months (P80).

Modeled timeline: Offer & LCA (Day 0-7, $111,593 avg) → H-1B petition adjudicated 1-6 months (Cognizant's FY2025 denial rate ~4%) → PERM certification, national median ~472 days (Cognizant's individual audit rate not disclosed) → I-140 filed, ~3.7 months → priority date must clear the Visa Bulletin cutoffs above (years-long wait for EB-2/EB-3 India) → I-485 filed once current, 8.5-36.5 months, EAD/AP typically earlier.

Sibling pages: DevOps Engineer at Amazon, DevOps Engineer at Microsoft, DevOps Engineer at Google, DevOps Engineer at Cisco.

FAQs

Q: Does Cognizant sponsor H-1B visas for DevOps Engineer roles? Yes — 11,091 certified LCAs in FY2025; DevOps-adjacent engineering/architect titles dominate filings though "DevOps Engineer" isn't a literal top-5 title (needs-review).

Q: What does Cognizant pay a DevOps Engineer on H-1B? Company-wide average H-1B wage $111,593 vs. average prevailing wage $99,063 (12.6% gap); actual pay depends on wage level and metro.

Q: How long does the green card process take after a DevOps Engineer offer from Cognizant? National PERM median ~472 days, I-140 ~3.7 months, then Visa Bulletin wait by chargeability; Cognizant filed 0 PERM cases in FY2025 per the disclosure snapshot reviewed, a notable drop from its 10,359 cumulative filings since 2017.

Q: Is Cognizant an H-1B-dependent employer? Not flagged as H-1B-dependent in the profile reviewed.

Q: What is Cognizant's H-1B denial rate? 4% in FY2025 per NFAP/USCIS Employer Data Hub figures, above the 2.8% national average.

Q: Does the EB-2/EB-3 choice change the wait for a DevOps Engineer at Cognizant? Often yes — EB-3 India is ahead of EB-2 India in the current Visa Bulletin.

VisaSherpa.ai's AI immigration planner builds your personalized version of this timeline.

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