New Changes to OES/SOC Occupation Codes and Prevailing Wages:
On July 1, 2022, the Foreign Labor Certification Data Center (FLC Data Center) uploaded the newest prevailing wage data from the Occupational Employment Survey as generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the fiscal year from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
Noticeable changes have been made to some SOC Occupation Codes which are frequently used in IT or Computer Software related nonimmigrant visa filings. In particular, the FLC Data Center has officially adopted the updated SOC codes for Software Developers, and Computer Systems Analysts which have already been reflected in ONET for some time now. Additionally, a newly created SOC code for Data Scientists has also been added to the dropdown menu of available occupations on their website. The SOC code for Software Developers, Systems Software has been removed from the dropdown menu entirely.
The new changes are reflected as follows:
| Occupation | Old SOC Code | New SOC Code |
| Software Developer | 15-1132 | 15-1252 |
| Computer Systems Analyst | 15-1121 | 15-1211 |
| Data Scientists | — — | 15-2051 |
The new Prevailing wages also seem to have increased in these SOC Codes and among other occupations. Listed below is
a chart of the wages in some of the most popular cities in the USA for the Occupation Codes mentioned above:
| City |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New York City, NY
|
|
Level 1 Wage: $40.96 hour – $85,197 year Level 2 Wage: $52.54 hour – $109,283 year Level 3 Wage: $64.13 hour – $133,390 year Level 4 Wage: $75.71 hour – $157,477 year |
Level 1 Wage: $37.00 hour – $76,960 year Level 2 Wage: $49.27 hour -$102,482 year Level 3 Wage: $61.54 hour – $128,003 year Level 4 Wage: $73.81 hour – $153,525 year |
Level 1 Wage: $35.56 hour – $73,965 year Level 2 Wage: $45.92 hour – $95,514 year Level 3 Wage: $56.27 hour – $117,042 year Level 4 Wage: $66.63 hour – $138,590 year |
||
| Chicago, IL | Level 1 Wage: $35.56 hour – $73,965 year Level 2 Wage: $45.20 hour – $94,016 year Level 3 Wage: $54.84 hour – $114,067 year Level 4 Wage: $64.48 hour – $134,118 year |
Level 1 Wage: $31.65 hour – $65,832 year Level 2 Wage: $40.73 hour – $84,718 year Level 3 Wage: $49.80 hour – $103,584 year Level 4 Wage: $58.88 hour – $122,470 year |
Level 1 Wage: $26.68 hour – $55,494 year Level 2 Wage: $35.47 hour – $73,778 year Level 3 Wage: $44.26 hour – $92,061 year Level 4 Wage: $53.05 hour – $110,344 year |
|||
| Houston, TX | Level 1 Wage: $34.18 hour – $71,094 year Level 2 Wage: $43.52 hour – $90,522 year Level 3 Wage: $52.87 hour – $109,970 year Level 4 Wage: $62.21 hour – $129,397 year |
Level 1 Wage: $35.78 hour – $74,422 year Level 2 Wage: $45.75 hour – $95,160 year Level 3 Wage: $55.72 hour – $115,898 year Level 4 Wage: $65.69 hour – $136,635 year |
Level 1 Wage: $33.47 hour – $69,618 year Level 2 Wage: $44.82 hour – $93,226 year Level 3 Wage: $56.18 hour – $116,854 year Level 4 Wage: $67.53 hour – $140,462 year |
|||
| Philadelphia, PA | Level 1 Wage: $37.21 hour – $77,397 year Level 2 Wage: $46.01 hour – $95,701 year Level 3 Wage: $54.82 hour – $114,026 year Level 4 Wage: $63.62 hour – $132,330 year |
Level 1 Wage: $32.10 hour – $66,768 year Level 2 Wage: $41.58 hour – $86,486 year Level 3 Wage: $51.07 hour – $106,226 year Level 4 Wage: $60.55 hour – $125,944 year |
Level 1 Wage: $33.64 hour – $69,971 year Level 2 Wage: $42.02 hour – $87,402 year Level 3 Wage: $50.40 hour – $104,832 year Level 4 Wage: $58.78 hour – $122,262 yea |
|||
| Dallas, TX | Level 1 Wage: $38.87 hour – $80,850 year Level 2 Wage: $47.55 hour – $98,904 year Level 3 Wage: $56.22 hour – $116,938 year Level 4 Wage: $64.90 hour – $134,992 year |
Level 1 Wage: $38.59 hour – $80,267 year Level 2 Wage: $46.99 hour – $97,739 year Level 3 Wage: $55.40 hour – $115,232 year Level 4 Wage: $63.80 hour – $132,704 year |
Level 1 Wage: $32.25 hour – $67,080 year Level 2 Wage: $41.76 hour – $86,861 year Level 3 Wage: $51.26 hour – $106,621 year Level 4 Wage: $60.77 hour – $126,402 year |
|||
| Seattle, WA | Level 1 Wage: $51.27 hour – $106,642 year Level 2 Wage: $61.22 hour – $127,338 year Level 3 Wage: $71.16 hour – $148,013 year Level 4 Wage: $81.11 hour – $168,709 year |
Level 1 Wage: $43.48 hour – $90,438 year Level 2 Wage: $54.37 hour – $113,090 year Level 3 Wage: $65.25 hour – $135,720 year Level 4 Wage: $76.14 hour -$158,371 year |
Level 1 Wage: $41.26 hour – $85,821 year Level 2 Wage: $48.73 hour – $101,358 year Level 3 Wage: $56.21 hour – $116,917 year Level 4 Wage: $63.68 hour – $132,454 year |
|||
| San Francisco, CA | Level 1 Wage: $51.75 hour – $107,640 year Level 2 Wage: $63.88 hour – $132,870 year Level 3 Wage: $76.00 hour – $158,080 year Level 4 Wage: 88.13 hour – $183,310 year |
Level 1 Wage: $47.83 hour – $99,486 year Level 2 Wage: $60.71 hour – $126,277 year Level 3 Wage: $73.60 hour – $153,088 year Level 4 Wage: $86.48 hour – $179,878 year |
Level 1 Wage: $41.09 hour – $85,467 year Level 2 Wage: $52.16 hour – $108,493 year Level 3 Wage: $63.22 hour – $131,498 year Level 4 Wage: $74.29 hour – $154,523 year |
As you consider changing employment locations or extending visa validity periods, please keep these updates in mind when planning your upcoming nonimmigrant visa filings. If you have any questions about how any of these updates may affect your current status, please seek guidance from an experienced business immigration attorney.
By: Jeanetly Garcia & Felipe Jimenez
Jeanetly Garcia advises employers and individuals through all phases of the non-immigrant visa process. As an attorney in the H-1B Department at Reddy Neumann Brown PC she is experienced in filing nonimmigrant petitions and applications for immigrant benefits, as well as, responding to USCIS issued requests for evidence concerning an array of legal issues.
Felipe Jimenez is a Staff Attorney at Reddy Neumann Brown PC. He works in the H-1B Department where he assists clients through all phases of the non-immigrant visa process.