6 Visa Sponsorship Questions to Ask Before You Sign

Visa sponsorship is the hardest part of a U.S. job offer to ask about. You need to know whether the employer will file for you, what it'll cost, and what happens if it fails. But you get one final-round conversation, and a lot of what you want to know isn't something a recruiter can answer on the spot.

Much of it you don't need to ask. The U.S. government publishes which employers sponsor work visas, for which jobs, and at what salaries, so you can check an employer's record before you ever speak to them.

These six questions cover what's left: which visa, where you'd file from, what salary, and who pays the associated fees.

Check three things before the interview

Whether this employer sponsors, and for which roles. Sponsoring employers show up in government disclosure data by company, job, and location. Migrate Mate turns that data into a filter you can search, with verified direct contacts for the hiring manager for every role. You can also create a profile that sponsoring employers search and reach you through.

Where your salary sits on the government's wage scale. The Department of Labor sets four wage levels for every job in every metro area, from Level 1 (entry) to Level 4 (most experienced). Look yours up through the department's H-1B program resources.

Whether the employer skips the lottery. Universities, hospitals affiliated with them, and nonprofit research organizations can file H-1B petitions year-round without entering the annual lottery. If yours is one of them, questions 3 and 4 don't apply.

1. Which visa are you filing, and would a different one suit me better?

Employers default to the H-1B visa because it's the one they know. Several other visas are faster, cheaper, and have no lottery, and you're usually the only person in the room who knows whether you qualify.

• Australians qualify for the E-3 visa. No lottery, no petition with USCIS, handled at a U.S. consulate.
• Canadians and Mexicans in certain listed professions qualify for the TN visa.
• Chileans and Singaporeans qualify for the H-1B1 visa.
• Anyone at an overseas branch of the same company may qualify for the L-1 visa.

Telling an employer you qualify for one of these typically offers them a more cost effective and more certain route.

If you're Australian, Migrate Mate files E-3 applications for a flat $499 with a dedicated E-3 expert, who prepares the filing, reviews your documents, and books your consulate appointment, handling the process end-to-end.

2. Would you be filing for me while I'm in the U.S. or overseas?

Since September 2025, a $100,000 payment applies to new H-1B petitions filed for people outside the U.S., or for people inside the U.S. who'll need to collect the visa at a consulate. It doesn't apply if you're already here on another status, like a student visa, and the employer files to switch you across.

The payment is being challenged in court. A judge cancelled it in June 2026 and paused that ruling days later, so USCIS is still collecting it while the appeal runs, as of July 2026. Ask whether they've budgeted for it, and what happens to your offer if the courts change the rules again.

3. What salary would you register me at for the lottery?

Since February 2026, the H-1B lottery isn't a straight draw. USCIS weights each entry by where your salary sits on the government's four-level wage scale. A Level 1 salary gets one entry. Level 4 gets four.

The government's own estimate, published with the DHS rule:

• Level 1: roughly 15% chance of selection
• Level 4: roughly 61%
• Old system: a flat 30% for everyone

Your salary is now your odds. That puts you and the employer on the same side, because an employer who wants the hire wants the entry to win.

If your offer lands at Level 2 for your job in your city, and Level 3 starts a few thousand higher, that gap is a specific request backed by a reason rather than a general push for more money. Some employers have room to move and some don't, and it varies by company, industry, and how the role was budgeted.

4. If I'm not selected in the H-1B lottery, what happens to my offer?

The H-1B lottery runs once a year, each March. There are 65,000 places, plus 20,000 reserved for people with a master's or higher from a U.S. university. Missing it pushes your start date back at least a year.

A prepared employer names a backup and a decision date:

• Filing through a university or hospital that skips the lottery
• Extending a graduate work permit to bridge to the next cycle
• Moving you on an L-1 from an overseas branch
• Switching to the O-1, TN, E-3, or H-1B1 if you qualify

Push for a date, not just an option. An employer with a real backup knows when they'd trigger it and who files it.

5. Which costs do you cover, and can that go in the offer letter?

Two fees can never be passed to you or taken out of your pay: the training fee that funds U.S. worker programs, and the $500 anti-fraud fee. Other petition costs, including lawyers, are the employer's business expense and can't be charged to you if it would drop your pay below the salary they promised.

What's left to negotiate:

1. Fast-track processing. $2,965 as of March 2026, for a decision in 15 working days instead of months. If they need it to hit your start date, it's their cost.
2. Consulate costs. The $205 application fee, any extra fee charged to your nationality, travel to the appointment, and the flight back. These fall to you by default and are often reimbursed if you ask.
3. Your family. Spouse and child applications are separate and aren't covered unless the employer agrees.
4. What comes later. Ask whether the offer covers only the first filing, or renewals and green card sponsorship too.

Ask for the split in writing on the offer letter.

6. Who handles your filings, and who's my contact once I sign?

The employer signs the petition, but an immigration lawyer or filing service prepares it. The person interviewing you is rarely the person doing the work.

Ask for the firm's name and who your contact will be once you sign. Don't ask to speak with the lawyer before you sign. That lawyer works for the employer, not you, and most firms will decline a call with someone who isn't their client.

Some employers use a fixed-fee filing service, like Migrate Mate, instead of a law firm. That's not a problem on its own, though cheaper services often come with less advice on which visa to pick or how to handle follow-up questions from USCIS. Ask what it covers. First-time filers tend to move slower, which matters if your start date is fixed.

Two questions to leave out

Don't ask HR to name the last work visa application they filed. It's a public record. Look it up yourself in a minute instead of asking someone to pull it from a system they may not have access to.

Don't ask whether they'll honor the 60-day grace period. It isn't theirs to give. If your job ends, USCIS may let you stay up to 60 days to find a new sponsor, switch status, or leave. It covers most work visas, including the H-1B, E-3, L-1, O-1, and TN. It isn't automatic, and USCIS can cut it short.

Raise the job-loss question at offer-letter review instead, and make it about paperwork. Ask how fast they issue a written notice confirming your last day, because the 60 days start the day after your final paycheck and your next employer will need that date.

Find employers who have sponsored visas before

An employer who's sponsored before already has most of these answers. Migrate Mate lists jobs from U.S. employers that have a history of sponsoring work visas, built on data verified by the government. You can easily search and find currently open jobs at companies who sponsor visas.

Frequently asked questions