Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and more — Seattle's tech giants offering Level 4 wages with ~62% lottery selection rates
Seattle is the second-largest H-1B filing city in the United States, driven by the headquarters of Amazon and Microsoft and major engineering offices for Google, Meta, and Apple. With the new wage-weighted lottery system, Seattle's high prevailing wages mean that many positions automatically qualify as Level 3 or Level 4 — giving candidates approximately 37-62% selection odds compared to just 15% at Level 1.
| Company | H-1B Filings | Dominant Wage Level |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 55,150 (total) | Seattle HQ Level 3-4 heavy |
| Microsoft | 34,626 (total) | Redmond Level 3-4 |
| Google Seattle | 3,200 | Level 4 |
| Salesforce Seattle | 2,800 | Level 3 |
| Meta Seattle | 2,100 | Level 3-4 |
| Oracle Seattle | 1,900 | Level 3 |
| Apple Seattle | 1,500 | Level 3-4 |
| Zillow | 1,200 | Level 3-4 |
The DOL prevailing wage for Software Engineer Level 4 in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area is $192,000+. Cloud computing, AI/ML, and infrastructure engineering roles at Amazon, Microsoft, and Google frequently exceed this threshold. Senior and Staff Engineer roles almost always qualify as Level 3 or Level 4, making Seattle one of the strongest metros for maximizing wage-weighted lottery odds.
Amazon's Seattle headquarters is the single largest source of H-1B filings in the region. SDE III (Senior Software Development Engineer) positions at Amazon typically pay $180,000-$220,000 in base salary, placing them firmly in Level 4 territory. Microsoft in Redmond (part of the Seattle metro) follows a similar pattern with Principal and Senior roles routinely at Level 3-4.
Beyond the tech giants, Seattle's growing startup ecosystem and established companies like Zillow, Expedia, and Redfin also file at competitive wage levels. The city's high cost of living naturally pushes prevailing wages upward, benefiting H-1B candidates under the new lottery system.
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Search H-1B Sponsors on Wisa →Both Amazon and Microsoft file heavily at Level 3 and Level 4 for their Seattle/Redmond headquarters positions. Amazon SDE III and Microsoft Principal/Senior roles typically qualify as Level 4 with salaries above $190,000. The lottery odds are roughly equivalent — approximately 62% for Level 4 at either company. The difference is more about the specific role level than the employer.
No. The prevailing wage is determined by the actual worksite location listed on the LCA, not the company headquarters. If you work remotely from Austin for an Amazon team based in Seattle, the LCA must list your Austin home as the worksite and use Austin prevailing wages. This could result in a lower wage level since Austin has lower prevailing wage thresholds than Seattle.
For H-1B candidates specifically, yes — Seattle's high cost of living is actually an advantage under the wage-weighted lottery. The same job that might be Level 2 in a lower-cost city is often Level 3 or Level 4 in Seattle because prevailing wage thresholds scale with local cost of living. The higher lottery odds (37-62% vs 15%) can make the cost-of-living tradeoff worthwhile for the first few years.
Google Seattle, Amazon (SDE III+), and Microsoft (Principal+) file the highest volume of Level 4 H-1B petitions in the Seattle metro. Smaller but very high-paying employers like Stripe, Snowflake, and various hedge fund satellite offices also file at Level 4. Generally, any company paying $192,000+ base salary for a software engineering role in Seattle will be filing at Level 4.