Media Planner Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Media planner roles qualify as specialty occupations under H-1B visa, requiring a bachelor's degree in advertising, marketing, or communications. Employers file a Labor Condition Application before sponsoring you, and many major media agencies have active LCA filing histories that signal genuine sponsorship capacity.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Our client, a full-service digital marketing agency, is seeking a Senior Media Planner to join their team on a full-time basis. This is a hands-on, digital-first planning role supporting a large tourism account, with additional exposure to clients across tourism, technology, and consumer verticals. This person will take approved media strategies and turn them into fully executable plans - owning channel mix, budgets, flighting, flowcharts, materials, and ongoing reconciliation across digital and traditional media. The ideal candidate is highly detail-oriented, comfortable managing significant budgets independently, and has experience negotiating directly with media vendors.
Type: Full-Time, Salaried
Location: Hybrid onsite Monday/Wednesday for candidates within 60 miles of downtown Chicago; fully remote candidates may be considered in IL, FL, GA, IN, MI, MN, NV, SD, or TN.
Salary: $75,000–$100,000 DOE
Responsibilities
- Build and own multi-channel media plans, translating approved strategies into detailed budgets, flowcharts, flighting, and campaign plans
- Plan across digital and traditional channels including paid social, programmatic, CTV, streaming audio, OLV, publisher direct, print, OOH, broadcast, and airport media
- Own working media budgets from initial allocation through revisions, pacing, authorizations, invoicing, and final reconciliation
- Maintain highly accurate budget trackers and flowcharts, adjusting monthly allocations to align with approved plans
- Review and approve media invoices, proof of performance, and associated documentation for accuracy
- Negotiate annual vendor contracts across traditional media channels including OOH, broadcast, and airport placements
- Request and evaluate vendor performance metrics for custom media placements
- Manage media specifications, creative calendars, materials tracking, tagging, and trafficking requirements
- Partner closely with creative, strategy, analytics, account, and project management teams to keep deliverables, timelines, and budgets aligned
- Handle ongoing client requests, media POVs, plan revisions, and optimization needs
- Independently manage multiple accounts, deadlines, and priorities while knowing when to escalate issues to senior leadership
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- 4+ years of media planning experience, with a strong emphasis on digital media
- Demonstrated hands-on experience personally building media plans, flowcharts, budgets, and flighting from approved strategy
- Strong financial accountability with experience owning budget pacing, revisions, media authorizations, invoice approvals, and reconciliation
- Direct experience independently negotiating vendor contracts; OOH, broadcast, airport, or similar traditional media experience strongly preferred
- Advanced Excel skills with the ability to independently build and manage complex budget trackers, flowcharts, and reconciliation documents
- Experience planning across multiple digital and traditional media channels
- Strong working knowledge of paid social platforms and digital media ecosystems
- Experience with Strata, Mediaocean, or a similar media planning platform is a plus
- Tourism, travel, destination marketing, or other multi-market account experience is highly preferred
- Exceptional attention to detail and comfort working with complex budgets and financial data
- Proven ability to independently manage multiple accounts, deadlines, and workstreams without sacrificing accuracy
- Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills
INTRODUCTION
Our client, a full-service digital marketing agency, is seeking a Senior Media Planner to join their team on a full-time basis. This is a hands-on, digital-first planning role supporting a large tourism account, with additional exposure to clients across tourism, technology, and consumer verticals. This person will take approved media strategies and turn them into fully executable plans - owning channel mix, budgets, flighting, flowcharts, materials, and ongoing reconciliation across digital and traditional media. The ideal candidate is highly detail-oriented, comfortable managing significant budgets independently, and has experience negotiating directly with media vendors.
Type: Full-Time, Salaried
Location: Hybrid onsite Monday/Wednesday for candidates within 60 miles of downtown Chicago; fully remote candidates may be considered in IL, FL, GA, IN, MI, MN, NV, SD, or TN.
Salary: $75,000–$100,000 DOE
Responsibilities
- Build and own multi-channel media plans, translating approved strategies into detailed budgets, flowcharts, flighting, and campaign plans
- Plan across digital and traditional channels including paid social, programmatic, CTV, streaming audio, OLV, publisher direct, print, OOH, broadcast, and airport media
- Own working media budgets from initial allocation through revisions, pacing, authorizations, invoicing, and final reconciliation
- Maintain highly accurate budget trackers and flowcharts, adjusting monthly allocations to align with approved plans
- Review and approve media invoices, proof of performance, and associated documentation for accuracy
- Negotiate annual vendor contracts across traditional media channels including OOH, broadcast, and airport placements
- Request and evaluate vendor performance metrics for custom media placements
- Manage media specifications, creative calendars, materials tracking, tagging, and trafficking requirements
- Partner closely with creative, strategy, analytics, account, and project management teams to keep deliverables, timelines, and budgets aligned
- Handle ongoing client requests, media POVs, plan revisions, and optimization needs
- Independently manage multiple accounts, deadlines, and priorities while knowing when to escalate issues to senior leadership
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- 4+ years of media planning experience, with a strong emphasis on digital media
- Demonstrated hands-on experience personally building media plans, flowcharts, budgets, and flighting from approved strategy
- Strong financial accountability with experience owning budget pacing, revisions, media authorizations, invoice approvals, and reconciliation
- Direct experience independently negotiating vendor contracts; OOH, broadcast, airport, or similar traditional media experience strongly preferred
- Advanced Excel skills with the ability to independently build and manage complex budget trackers, flowcharts, and reconciliation documents
- Experience planning across multiple digital and traditional media channels
- Strong working knowledge of paid social platforms and digital media ecosystems
- Experience with Strata, Mediaocean, or a similar media planning platform is a plus
- Tourism, travel, destination marketing, or other multi-market account experience is highly preferred
- Exceptional attention to detail and comfort working with complex budgets and financial data
- Proven ability to independently manage multiple accounts, deadlines, and workstreams without sacrificing accuracy
- Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Visa Sponsorship as a Media Planner
Frame your degree for specialty occupation
Media planner positions require a directly related degree, not just any bachelor's. If yours is in a adjacent field like psychology or statistics, document coursework in media strategy, audience analytics, or advertising to strengthen your specialty occupation case with USCIS.
Search LCA data before applying
Use Migrate Mate to identify which media agencies and holding companies have certified LCAs for media planner roles specifically, so you're targeting employers with a proven sponsorship track record rather than guessing from job postings.
Verify prevailing wage tier before negotiating
Your employer's LCA must certify a wage at or above the prevailing wage for your metro area. Run your city and role through the OFLC Wage Search before salary discussions so you know the floor, and can spot an underpaying offer that may signal weak sponsorship intent.
Get programmatic and DSP credentials documented
Demand-side platform proficiency isn't captured well in degree transcripts. Compile platform certifications, campaign reports, and tool-specific training records now. USCIS RFEs for media roles often target whether the work genuinely requires a specialized degree, so a skills portfolio helps close that gap.
Ask HR whether the role is cap-exempt
Some media agencies are subsidiaries of universities or nonprofits, which can make H-1B petitions cap-exempt and skip the annual lottery entirely. Confirm the employer's legal entity structure early. A cap-exempt filing means no waiting for the next registration window in spring.
Time your start date around LCA certification
The LCA must be certified by DOL before your employer files the H-1B petition with USCIS. Typical DOL certification takes around seven business days. Build that window into your offer negotiation so your start date doesn't conflict with the filing timeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a media planner role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B?
Yes, provided the employer documents that the position normally requires at least a bachelor's degree in a directly related field such as advertising, marketing, communications, or media studies. Generic business degrees can work, but employers sometimes face Requests for Evidence from USCIS asking them to demonstrate the theoretical and practical application of specialized knowledge the role demands.
Which visa types can media planners use for U.S. work sponsorship?
H-1B is the most common path and covers the specialty occupation requirement. Australian nationals can use the E-3 visa, which has no lottery and renews indefinitely. Chilean nationals may qualify for the H-1B1 visa, and Canadian or Mexican nationals holding the right credentials can explore TN visa status under the USMCA economist or marketing research analyst categories, though fit depends on the specific role scope.
How do I find media agencies that actively sponsor visas?
Migrate Mate lists employers with verified LCA sponsorship history for media and advertising roles, so you can focus your search on companies that have already committed to sponsoring the visa classification you need, rather than relying on job postings that may not reflect actual sponsorship willingness.
Does my degree field matter, or is any bachelor's degree enough?
Field does matter. USCIS looks for a direct relationship between your degree discipline and the media planner duties. A degree in marketing, advertising, communications, or media studies is a strong fit. A degree in an unrelated field increases your exposure to an RFE. Supplementing with graduate coursework or certifications in media analytics can help bridge a weaker degree match.
Can a media planner on OPT switch to H-1B without a gap in work authorization?
Yes, through the cap-gap rule. If your OPT expires while your H-1B petition is pending with USCIS after the annual registration period, your work authorization is automatically extended through September 30 of that year. You need a timely-filed H-1B petition and an I-20 with cap-gap notation from your DSO to continue working without interruption.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Media Planner jobs?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.