Physical Therapist at UnitedHealth Group — H-1B Wage Level, PERM Record & Green Card Timeline

Physical Therapist is a stronger H-1B specialty-occupation fit than Registered Nurse — PT roles typically require a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, which more clearly clears the H-1B bar — but UnitedHealth Group's own filing history still shows no PT-titled H-1B or PERM cases among its top occupations. United Healthcare Services, Inc., the operating entity, filed just 48 H-1B LCAs in FY2025, concentrated in Software Developer, Business Intelligence Analyst, and Data Scientist roles. A Physical Therapist offer at a UnitedHealth Group entity (including Optum's clinical divisions) would be a genuine outlier filing relative to this company's documented sponsorship pattern.

Data Table: UnitedHealth Group H-1B & Green Card Snapshot (occupation-mismatch flagged)

Metric	Value	Source
H-1B LCAs certified, FY2025 (United Healthcare Services entity)	47 certified / 1 cert-withdrawn	DOL OFLC LCA disclosure
Green card labor certifications (LC), FY2025	5	DOL OFLC LCA disclosure
H-1B petitions filed/approved, FY2026 YTD	22 filed / 22 approved (100%) / 0 denied	USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub
Average H-1B proffered wage, FY2025 (company-wide, not PT-specific)	$133,024	DOL OFLC LCA disclosure
Physical Therapist named H-1B or green card title	Not present in top occupations reviewed	DOL LCA/PERM disclosure — needs_review, occupation mismatch
National OES median wage, Physical Therapists (SOC 29-1123)	Approximately $100,000 (national benchmark, not employer-specific)	BLS OES, needs_review — general occupational benchmark, not confirmed against UnitedHealth Group filings
EB-2 cutoff (India / China / RoW)	Unavailable / Sep 1 2021 / Current	DOS Visa Bulletin, August 2026
EB-3 cutoff (India / China / RoW)	Jan 1 2014 / Jan 1 2022 / Sep 1 2024	DOS Visa Bulletin, August 2026
I-140 / I-485 processing	2.5–30 months (15 business days premium) / 8.5–38 months	USCIS egov.uscis.gov

Data as of August 2026 · sources: DOL OFLC LCA disclosure, USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, DOS Visa Bulletin, BLS OES national wage data, egov.uscis.gov

FAQs

Does UnitedHealth Group sponsor H-1B visas for Physical Therapists? No PT-titled H-1B filings appear in the operating entity's (United Healthcare Services, Inc.) documented FY2025 occupation list, which is dominated by IT and data roles — a PT offer would be an outlier relative to this employer's typical sponsorship pattern.

Why is Physical Therapist a stronger H-1B fit than Registered Nurse, in general? PT roles typically require a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree as the standard entry credential, which more reliably satisfies USCIS's H-1B specialty-occupation bachelor's-degree requirement than a standard RN role.

What's the realistic wage benchmark for a PT role, absent employer-specific data? The national OES median for Physical Therapists (SOC 29-1123) is a reasonable starting benchmark, but confirm the actual prevailing wage for your specific worksite metro area via flag.dol.gov before treating any figure as final.

Does UnitedHealth Group file PERM green cards for clinical roles? Only 5 green card labor certifications were filed company-wide in FY2025, none in named clinical titles reviewed — clinical hiring at UnitedHealth Group/Optum more commonly proceeds through direct hire of already-authorized workers.

What's the realistic green card wait if UnitedHealth Group did sponsor a PT? EB-2 India is unavailable and EB-3 India sits at January 1, 2014 per the August 2026 Visa Bulletin — the same multi-year backlog that applies to every India-chargeability PERM case, regardless of occupation.

Why is this page marked needs-review? Because Physical Therapist does not appear as a named occupation in UnitedHealth Group's documented H-1B/PERM filings; this page uses a national OES benchmark rather than employer-verified data and should be treated as directional only.

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