Northwestern University
EVANSTON, ILFEIN 36-2167817NAICS 611310
Likely cap-exempt because most of its LCAs give NAICS 611310 (colleges and universities). Cap-exempt employers (universities, their affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit and government research organizations) hire outside the H-1B lottery. This is a rule applied to the data, not a USCIS determination; a for-profit college can match it. The rule
32 software, data, finance or quant LCAs at level I or II, FY2025 and FY2026
Workers new to H-1B employment with this employer
LCAs by fiscal year
Every Labor Condition Application this employer filed, by the status DOL gave it.
| Fiscal year | Filed | Certified | Withdrawn | Denied | Certified workers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 316 | 202 | 114 | 0 | 202 | DOL LCA FY2023 Q1-Q4, 316 rows |
| FY2024 | 341 | 249 | 92 | 0 | 249 | DOL LCA FY2024 Q1-Q4, 341 rows |
| FY2025 | 328 | 230 | 98 | 0 | 230 | DOL LCA FY2025 Q1-Q4, 328 rows |
| FY2026 | 279 | 178 | 101 | 0 | 178 | DOL LCA FY2026 Q3, 279 rows |
FY2026 covers October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 (the latest DOL release). Withdrawn includes certified-then-withdrawn.
What is an LCA, and what do these statuses mean?
A Labor Condition Application is the form an employer files with the Department of Labor before an H-1B, H-1B1 or E-3 petition. It names the job, the worksite and the wage.
Certified means DOL accepted it. Withdrawn means the employer withdrew it. Denied means DOL rejected it. A certified LCA shows intent to hire into a role; it is not a visa and not a petition approval.
Offered pay
Yearly pay on certified, full-time LCAs with a valid wage. The bar spans the 25th to 75th percentile; the tick is the median.
- FY2023$65,520 median · $59,883 to $83,215
- FY2024$70,000 median · $62,546 to $90,000
- FY2025$72,760 median · $64,834 to $90,000
- FY2026$71,033 median · $65,510 to $83,557
Offered wage by role group, FY2025 and FY2026
Per fiscal year; percentiles are not combined across years. The prevailing wage is the wage DOL requires for the occupation, area and level on each LCA, annualized the same way.
| Role group | Year | Certified | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | Prevailing wage, median | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineering | FY2026 | 3 | $93,204 | $93,204 | $103,102 | $63,211 | DOL LCA FY2026 Q3, 3 rows |
| Software engineering | FY2025 | 1 | $84,111 | $84,111 | $84,111 | $75,358 | DOL LCA FY2025 Q1-Q4, 1 rows |
| Data and analytics | FY2026 | 16 | $74,769 | $80,000 | $91,146 | $64,938 | DOL LCA FY2026 Q3, 15 rows |
| Data and analytics | FY2025 | 17 | $69,900 | $78,161 | $93,240 | $66,238 | DOL LCA FY2025 Q1-Q4, 16 rows |
| Finance | FY2025 | 1 | $84,219 | $84,219 | $84,219 | $84,219 | DOL LCA FY2025 Q1-Q4, 1 rows |
| Quant and actuarial | FY2026 | 1 | $67,940 | $67,940 | $67,940 | $59,488 | DOL LCA FY2026 Q3, 1 rows |
| IT and systems | FY2025 | 2 | $71,092 | $78,329 | $85,565 | $60,778 | DOL LCA FY2025 Q1-Q4, 2 rows |
| Engineering | FY2026 | 9 | $65,582 | $68,000 | $71,656 | $57,117 | DOL LCA FY2026 Q3, 9 rows |
| Engineering | FY2025 | 11 | $61,008 | $65,582 | $74,828 | $56,659 | DOL LCA FY2025 Q1-Q4, 11 rows |
| Other | FY2026 | 149 | $64,356 | $70,000 | $83,366 | $60,965 | DOL LCA FY2026 Q3, 147 rows |
| Other | FY2025 | 198 | $64,356 | $72,250 | $90,173 | $56,368 | DOL LCA FY2025 Q1-Q4, 194 rows |
Wage level mix, FY2025 and FY2026
The prevailing wage level the employer chose on each certified LCA. Level I is the entry level.
- Level I
- 81%329
- Level II
- 7%30
- Level III
- 10%42
- Level IV
- 2%7
- Not stated
- 0%0
Since the FY2027 cap season, the H-1B lottery gives a registration 1 entry at wage level I, 2 at II, 3 at III and 4 at IV (rule effective February 27, 2026). USCIS announcement. Levels shown are those on past LCAs.
How is pay calculated?
Filed uses the lower end of the pay range on each LCA (the figure the employer commits to) and turns it into a yearly amount: hourly x 2,080, weekly x 52, every two weeks x 26, monthly x 12.
Amounts under $15,000 or over $1,000,000 a year are almost always a unit typo (a salary entered as hourly), so they are left out of pay figures but still counted as LCAs.
Role groups, FY2025 and FY2026
Certified LCAs by occupation group (from the SOC code on each LCA).
- Other34785%
- Data and analytics338%
- Engineering205%
- Software engineering41%
- IT and systems20%
- Finance10%
- Quant and actuarial10%
Entry-level signal
32 entry-level LCAs, 8% of 408 certified, FY2025 to FY2026
entry-level LCAs = certified LCAs in Software engineering, Data and analytics, Finance, or Quant and actuarial at wage level I or II
share = entry-level LCAs / all certified LCAs, same fiscal years
USCIS initial approvals, same years: not loaded (USCIS years loaded: FY2023)
A count of past filings, not a probability of sponsorship.
Top job titles, FY2026
- 1POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR46
- 2RESEARCH ASSOCIATE45
- 3ASSISTANT PROFESSOR15
- 4RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROFESSOR14
- 5ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INSTRUCTION5
USCIS petition decisions
From the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, matched by name, state and the last four tax ID digits.
| Fiscal year | Initial approved | of which new employment | Initial denied | Continuing approved | Continuing denied | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 45 | – | 0 | 39 | 0 | USCIS Data Hub FY2023, 3 rows |
Initial = New Employment + New Concurrent (a change of status from F-1 counts as New Employment). The FY2023 file reports initial and continuing only, so New Employment is shown as – for it.
Initial or continuing: what is the difference?
Initial approvals are workers new to H-1B employment with this employer, including a student moving from F-1 (OPT) status. Continuing covers extensions, amendments and workers changing to this employer from another H-1B employer.
USCIS counts workers, not forms, and reports the first decision on each petition.
Name variants seen
Every spelling this employer used on its filings.
- Northwestern University1,264 LCAs
- NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY3 USCIS rows
LCAs are grouped by the employer’s federal tax ID (FEIN). A few one-off names under a large employer are usually another company’s FEIN typo. 607 LCAs in the last two fiscal years.