QA Engineer at Google — H-1B Wage Level, PERM Record & Green Card Timeline
Direct answer: "QA Engineer" is essentially not used as a standalone H-1B job title at Google — public LCA disclosure data shows zero records under that exact title. Google's quality-assurance work is almost always filed under "Software Engineer," "Software Engineer, Test," or similar engineering titles, which carry Google's standard software-engineering wage and PERM profile. If you have a Google offer titled "QA Engineer," treat the figures below (Google's company-wide H-1B and PERM record) as your baseline, and confirm your specific LCA job title and SOC code once you have an offer letter.
Google QA Engineer — Data Snapshot
| Metric | Value | Data as of · Source |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosed LCA records for exact title "QA Engineer" | 0 records | FY2025 LCA filings · DOL OFLC LCA disclosure, via h1bdata.info, retrieved Aug 2026 |
| Data-quality note | Google's QA/test-engineering work is typically filed under a general "Software Engineer" or "Software Engineer, Test" title. Check the [Software Engineer at Google] wage data for a realistic baseline. | — |
| H-1B approvals/denials, FY2026 (company-wide) | 1,903 approved / 32 denied (~1.7% denial rate) | USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, FY2026, via myvisajobs.com |
| H-1B initial (new employment) approvals, FY2025 | 1,050 | National Foundation for American Policy analysis of USCIS data, reported by Forbes, Nov 2025 |
| LCA volume, FY2025 (all titles) | 8,945 filed, ranked #7 sponsor by volume | DOL OFLC LCA disclosure, FY2025 |
| PERM (green card) filings, FY2025 | 0 filed (historical total since 2017: 19,519 certified) | DOL OFLC PERM disclosure |
| Employer status | Not H-1B dependent; verified employer | USCIS/DOL public employer record |
Google's FY2025 PERM filing count of zero (against a 19,519 historical total) is a genuine flag worth investigating with your specific team — it may reflect a filing-entity change, timing, or a real pause that year.
Modeled Timeline: Offer to Green Card
- Offer → LCA certified: ~7 calendar days.
- LCA → H-1B approved: 2–8 weeks standard, or 15 business days with premium processing.
- PERM: PWD ~3 months + recruitment ~2–3 months + DOL analyst review ~16–17 months at the current national average pace; audits commonly add 6–12+ months.
- I-140: 2.5–3.5 months standard, or 15 business days premium.
- Priority date wait: varies sharply by chargeability — see table below.
- I-485: roughly 8.5–38 months to 80th-percentile completion once current.
Wait time by chargeability country
| Chargeability | EB-2 cutoff, Aug 2026 | EB-3 cutoff, Aug 2026 | Directional wait for a PERM filed today |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | Unavailable (FY2026 limit reached) | Jan 1, 2014 | Multi-year, commonly discussed as a decade or more by immigration attorneys — directional only |
| China | Sept 1, 2021 | Jan 1, 2022 | Several years, shorter than India but still multi-year |
| Rest of World | Current | Sept 1, 2024 | EB-2: little to no wait once I-140 approved; EB-3: roughly ~2 years |
Source: U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin, August 2026.
FAQs
Does Google actually hire QA Engineers on H-1B? Yes, quality-assurance and test-engineering work exists at Google, but it's almost always filed under a general "Software Engineer" title rather than "QA Engineer" on the LCA — the job duties, not the offer-letter title, determine the DOL filing title.
What wage level should I expect if my offer letter says "QA Engineer" at Google? Ask your recruiter what job title and SOC code will appear on your actual LCA — it's very likely to be filed as Software Engineer, which typically clears a Level III–IV prevailing wage at Google's California and Washington offices.
Why does Google show zero PERM filings for FY2025? This is a real disclosure data point but not necessarily evidence of a policy shift — check with Google's internal immigration team, since large employers sometimes shift filings between legal entities or timing windows.
Is Google's H-1B denial rate a risk factor for QA/test roles? No — Google's overall denial rate is low (~1.7% in FY2026) and it is not H-1B dependent, which generally reduces additional certification requirements.
How long will an India-chargeability QA/test engineer at Google wait for a green card? With EB-2 marked Unavailable and EB-3 at a January 2014 cutoff in August 2026, plan for a multi-year, realistically many-year, wait — model your specific priority date rather than relying on a single estimate.
Should I ask for the exact LCA job title before accepting an offer? Yes — the LCA (ETA-9035) is a public record once certified, and knowing the exact title and wage level lets you compare your offer against real DOL data instead of a job-title guess.
Related H-1B & Green Card Timelines
- Software Engineer at Google
- Machine Learning Engineer at Google
- Data Engineer at Google
- Systems Analyst at Google
- DevOps Engineer at Google
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