Minnesota State Wire

In 2024, 4,518 of the 4,583 H-1B petitions submitted by employers based in Minnesota were approved, according to data provided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services via the H-1B Employer Data Hub.

This represents an approval rate of 98.6%, which is higher than the nationwide average.

In 2024, the average approval rate for H-1B petitions across the U.S. stood at 98%, slightly higher than the 97.3% recorded in 2023.

The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. It is designed to address skill gaps in the U.S. workforce while ensuring wage standards to protect both U.S. and H-1B workers. Employers must certify that they will pay H-1B workers wages equal to or greater than those of similarly qualified U.S. employees or the prevailing local wage. 

The Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industry led H-1B petition approvals in Minnesota during 2024, filing a total of 1,282 petitions (28% of all submissions) and receiving 1,247 approvals, resulting in an approval rate of 97.3%. The Educational Services industry followed, with 877 petitions (19.1% of all submissions), receiving 870 approvals and an approval rate of 99.2%.

Employers are classified under industries based on their reported operations and may be involved in multiple industries.

The Minnesota employers with the most approvals during 2024 included US Bank National Association, filing a total of 472 petitions and receiving 471 approvals, resulting in an approval rate of 99.8%, and Optum Services, Inc., which filed 424 petitions and received 419 approvals, resulting in an approval rate of 98.8%.

Compared to 2023, Minnesota saw a 1.6% decrease in the number of H-1B petitions during 2024.

The United States admits around 1 million legal immigrants annually, most of whom receive permanent residence (green cards) through family sponsorship or employment-based visas. In 2023, about 1.2 million immigrants were granted green cards, a return to pre-pandemic levels. Temporary visa programs, such as the H-1B for highly skilled workers and H-2A for seasonal agricultural workers, also play a critical role in filling workforce needs.

Public opinion on immigration varies, with 46% of Americans favoring maintaining current legal immigration levels, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey. Additionally, 42% believe that highly skilled workers, such as scientists, doctors, and programmers, should be prioritized for legal immigration, compared to 25% who prioritize workers filling labor shortages and 19% who emphasize family sponsorship. Despite this, family sponsorship remains the most common path to permanent residency, accounting for 63% of green cards issued in 2023.

The data in this article comes from the H-1B Employer Data Hub provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). While USCIS strives for accuracy, manual data entry and errors on paper forms submitted by applicants or petitioners may result in discrepancies in employer names, tax IDs, locations, or other details.

Rank	Industry	Total Petitions	% of All Submissions	Approved Petitions	% Approved	% Denied
1	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	1,282	28%	1,247	97.3%	2.7%
2	Educational Services	877	19.1%	870	99.2%	0.8%
3	Finance and Insurance	772	16.8%	768	99.5%	0.5%
4	Manufacturing	718	15.7%	717	99.9%	0.1%
5	Retail Trade	305	6.7%	302	99%	1%
6	Health Care and Social Assistance	187	4.1%	179	95.7%	4.3%
7	Information	104	2.3%	101	97.1%	2.9%
8	Wholesale Trade	65	1.4%	65	100%	0%
9	Construction	53	1.2%	52	98.1%	1.9%
10	Utilities	50	1.1%	49	98%	2%
11	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	38	0.8%	38	100%	0%
12	Other Services (except Public Administration)	19	0.4%	18	94.7%	5.3%
13	Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	10	0.2%	10	100%	0%
14	Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	9	0.2%	9	100%	0%
15	Transportation and Warehousing	5	0.1%	5	100%	0%
16	Management of Companies and Enterprises	4	0.1%	4	100%	0%
16	Public Administration	5	0.1%	4	80%	20%
18	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	0.1%	3	100%	0%
19	Accommodation and Food Services	2	~0%	2	100%	0%
19	Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction	2	~0%	2	100%	0%

Rank	Company Name	Industry(ies)	Total Petitions	Approved Petitions	% Approved	% Denied
1	US Bank National Association	Finance and Insurance; Management of Companies and Enterprises	472	471	99.8%	0.2%
2	Optum Services, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	424	419	98.8%	1.2%
3	Mayo Clinic	Educational Services	393	390	99.2%	0.8%
4	Medtronic, Inc.	Manufacturing	309	309	100%	0%
5	University of Minnesota	Educational Services; Health Care and Social Assistance	191	190	99.5%	0.5%
6	Target Enterprise, Inc.	Retail Trade	163	162	99.4%	0.6%
7	Best Buy Company, Inc.	Retail Trade	132	132	100%	0%
8	RBC Capital Markets, LLC	Finance and Insurance	93	93	100%	0%
9	Covidien LP	Manufacturing	88	88	100%	0%
10	Sagitec Solutions, LLC	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	65	65	100%	0%
11	Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	Finance and Insurance	55	55	100%	0%
12	Arcus Technologies	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	48	48	100%	0%
13	NCS Pearson, Inc.	Information	36	35	97.2%	2.8%
14	M a Mortenson Company	Construction	34	34	100%	0%
15	CHS, Inc.	Wholesale Trade	32	32	100%	0%
16	Ecolab USA, Inc.	Utilities	29	28	96.6%	3.4%
16	University of Minnesota Physicians	Health Care and Social Assistance	28	28	100%	0%
16	Group Health Plan, Inc.	Health Care and Social Assistance	28	28	100%	0%
16	Lakes International Language Academy	Educational Services	28	28	100%	0%
20	Fridley Public Schools Independent School District 14	Educational Services	27	27	100%	0%
21	General Mills, Inc.	Manufacturing	24	24	100%	0%
21	Elavon, Inc.	Finance and Insurance	24	24	100%	0%
21	Cargill Incorporated	Manufacturing; Finance and Insurance	24	24	100%	0%
24	DC Group, Inc.	Manufacturing	23	23	100%	0%
25	3M Company	Manufacturing; Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	22	22	100%	0%
25	Deluxe Corporation	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	22	22	100%	0%
27	Tekhops, LLC	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	21	21	100%	0%
28	3M Healthcare US Opco, LLC	Manufacturing; Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	20	20	100%	0%
28	Minnesota State University Mankato	Educational Services	20	20	100%	0%
28	Thomson Reuters Services, Inc.	Information	20	20	100%	0%
31	United Healthcare Services, Inc.	Finance and Insurance	20	19	95%	5%
31	Nihilent, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	19	19	100%	0%
31	Polaris, Inc.	Retail Trade	19	19	100%	0%
34	Minneapolis Public Schools	Educational Services	18	18	100%	0%
34	Concord USA, LLC	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	18	18	100%	0%
34	Techvision Company	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	19	18	94.7%	5.3%
34	Andersen Corporation	Manufacturing	18	18	100%	0%
34	Logic Information Systems, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	18	18	100%	0%
39	Southwest Metro Intermediate District 288	Educational Services	17	17	100%	0%
40	Maritz Consulting Group	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	15	15	100%	0%
40	Open Systems International, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	15	15	100%	0%
40	Genisys Technologies, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	15	15	100%	0%
43	3M Health Information Systems, Inc.	Manufacturing	14	14	100%	0%
44	Iziel Healthcare, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	13	13	100%	0%
44	Oremda Infotech, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	14	13	92.9%	7.1%
44	Turnberry Solutions, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	14	13	92.9%	7.1%
44	U S Electronics, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	14	13	92.9%	7.1%
48	Allina Health System	Health Care and Social Assistance	13	12	92.3%	7.7%
48	Strategic Education, Inc.	Educational Services	12	12	100%	0%
48	Prasquare Technologies, LLC	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	12	12	100%	0%
48	Vits Consulting, Corp.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	13	12	92.3%	7.7%
52	The ISD 622 Education Center D B a	Educational Services	11	11	100%	0%
52	Land O Lakes, Inc.	Manufacturing	11	11	100%	0%
52	Yinghua Academy	Educational Services	11	11	100%	0%
52	Talech, Inc.	Information; Finance and Insurance	11	11	100%	0%
52	Param Technologies, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	12	11	91.7%	8.3%
52	Idom, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	11	11	100%	0%
52	Rogers Freels Associates, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	11	11	100%	0%
52	Sleep Number Corporation	Retail Trade	12	11	91.7%	8.3%
60	Sezzle, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	10	10	100%	0%
60	Phdata, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	10	10	100%	0%
62	University of St. Thomas	Educational Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	Intermediate School District 917 D	Educational Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	Oasys Technologies, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	Itprofound, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	New Century School	Educational Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	WSB, LLC	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	Fastenal Company	Manufacturing	9	9	100%	0%
62	Bento Technologies, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	3M Healthcare Management, LLC	Manufacturing	9	9	100%	0%
62	Smart Solutions, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	Walleye Capital, LLC	Finance and Insurance	9	9	100%	0%
62	Horizontal Integration, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	9	9	100%	0%
62	Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc.	Health Care and Social Assistance	9	9	100%	0%
75	Metro Social Services, Inc.	Health Care and Social Assistance	8	8	100%	0%
75	Ucare Minnesota	Finance and Insurance	8	8	100%	0%
75	Javen Technologies, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	8	8	100%	0%
75	Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School Dis	Educational Services	8	8	100%	0%
75	District 742 Community Schools	Educational Services	8	8	100%	0%
75	Royal Bank of Canada	Finance and Insurance	9	8	88.9%	11.1%
75	Dwaith Infotech, Inc.	Information; Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	9	8	88.9%	11.1%
82	Tennant Company	Wholesale Trade	7	7	100%	0%
82	Starkey Laboratories, Inc.	Manufacturing	8	7	87.5%	12.5%
82	Synergy Software Solutions, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	7	7	100%	0%
82	Independent School District 16	Educational Services	7	7	100%	0%
82	Provation Software, Inc.	Information	7	7	100%	0%
82	Piper Sandler and Company	Finance and Insurance	7	7	100%	0%
88	Betasharp, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	6	6	100%	0%
88	G Sol, LLC	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	7	6	85.7%	14.3%
88	Banner Engineering	Manufacturing	6	6	100%	0%
88	Phaedon, LLC	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	6	6	100%	0%
88	Sankrish Consulting, LLC	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	7	6	85.7%	14.3%
88	Allianz Technology of America, Inc.	Finance and Insurance	6	6	100%	0%
88	EVS, Inc.	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	7	6	85.7%	14.3%
88	Carleton College	Educational Services	7	6	85.7%	14.3%
88	Datasite, LLC	Information	6	6	100%	0%
88	Independent School District 38 Red Lake Public School District	Educational Services	6	6	100%	0%
98	Ecolab, Inc.	Utilities	5	5	100%	0%
98	Icon It Group	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	5	5	100%	0%
98	Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC	Finance and Insurance	5	5	100%	0%