How to get an H1B visa for a banking job: the data
Changes to the H1B visa system may be on the horizon, but it's still a massive funnel of talent into investment banks. Big US banks employ thousands of H1B visa holders, and some profiles are more common than others. We've looked at over 17,500 salary listings on the H1B visa salary database over the last two years (ending July 31st 2026) to see what kinds of roles banks are most likely to result in banks wanting to sponsor you for a H1B.
This is how you'll get an H1B for banking now.
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1. Work in technology (or maybe the front office)
Across the five biggest US banks, just under half of all H1B filings are confirmed to be for engineers or other technology staff. The next most common function (separated by a huge margin) is front office staff, including bankers, traders and relationship managers. Front office H1Bs are also the highest earning; they make $180k salaries on average but many earn $300k or more.
Other functions that are popular for H1Bs are quants, risk and compliance staff. Roughly 20% of filings didn't declare any function and simply stated seniority.
2. Be a VP (or an engineering lead)
It's the mid-level staff, particularly vice presidents, who benefit most from the H1B visa scheme. 38% of H1B visa-holders in banking are vice presidents, earning an average salary of $171k. Associates follow closely behind with 25% of the total share of H1Bs.
Where seniority (in the traditional banking sense) is not specified, the most common job titles are senior engineers and lead engineers, which equate to roughly the same seniority as associates and VPs.
If you're a managing director and need to move to the US, banks will usually rely on something like an L1 visa which involves working in another office abroad before joining in America, or an O-1a visa reserved for people with "extraordinary ability." MDs represent just 0.4% of the H1B pool, but they at least give an indication of how much you can earn if you make MD yourself: average salaries across H1B MDs is $407.4k.
3. Work in New York
Unsurprisingly, the most popular destination for H1Bs is New York. It accounts for 28.5% of all H1B hires (37% if you include Jersey City) and pays an average of $176k. There are some cities where you'll be paid more.
Working in technology for a bank in California can be lucrative. The US banks pay salaries of $182k on average in San Francisco and $198k in Palo Alto. Sadly, these hires make up just ~2% of the total talent pool.
Pay in 'Y'all Street' is much lower. Banks have tech hubs across multiple cities in Texas, including Dallas, Irving and Plano; average salaries for H1Bs in these cities are all below $156k. H1Bs in Dallas earn just $127k on average.
4. Earn $160k (unless you work at Goldman Sachs)
Average pay across the five biggest US banks was $154k. Most banks paid more than this but one paid considerably less.
Goldman Sachs, the second biggest employer of H1Bs, paid an average of just $136k across 3969 filings. All the other US banks (bar Wells Fargo) paid above $160k on average with Morgan Stanley paying the most: $165.5k
Of course, if you've yet to obtain an H1B you're likely earning much less than this. Bloomberg reported last November that a $60k salary for a visa holder in the US could get the same quality of candidate as a 300k rupee ($3.4k) salary in India (where most H1B visa-holders originate). This suggests most H1B visa nominees are paid around 860k rupees ($9k).
Goldman's numbers might be bogged down by the fact that it hires a large number of analysts on H1Bs, many of whom work outside its New York base. The median salary for Goldman is $128k, which suggests there are some particulary high earners bringing up the average.
Things might change from next year onwards. A weighted lottery is being introduced that splits H1B nominees into 4 brackets based on their wages; those in the highest bracket get four entries into the H1B lottery while the lowest tier candidates get just one. More MDs on $400k may soon be making their way to New York.
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