Does American Express Sponsor H-1B Visas? Three Filing Entities, Tech Roles and the OPT Path

American Express appears under three employer names in the USCIS H-1B data, and two of them look like one company, so a count taken from any single row understates its sponsorship.

Part of our guide to companies that sponsor H-1B visas.

Status as of November 1, 2026: yes, American Express sponsors H-1B visas, though whether it sponsors your role depends on the posting. For FY2024, the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub extract behind our company pages lists American Express under three employer names holding 543 first decisions: 98 initial (new-employment) approvals, 443 continuing approvals and 2 initial denials (our arithmetic). In our reading, two of those names are the same company. As of the same date, wage-weighted H-1B selection is in effect, FY2028 registration is not announced, and the STEM OPT 180-day automatic extension is in effect.

Does American Express sponsor H-1B? The short answer

Yes. American Express sponsors H-1B workers, and the USCIS Data Hub shows it under three employer names: American Express Travel Related Services Company Inc, what looks like a cut-off spelling of that same name, and its parent, American Express Company. Most FY2024 decisions were continuing-employment cases such as extensions, but 98 were initial approvals. Sponsorship is still decided role by role.

Read each listing on the American Express technology careers page for work-authorization language, and ask the recruiter early whether the role supports an H-1B registration. Silence in a posting proves nothing: in a single-vendor review of 2,718 engineering roles at 136 companies (read 2026-10-13), Match.dev reported that 88.1% of postings said nothing about sponsorship.

The rules around an American Express offer (as of 2026-11-01)

A closed comment period does not make a proposal final; each stays a proposal until a final rule is published. On the $100,000 payment, the USCIS Form I-129 page (updated 2026-10-30) says a court "vacated agency guidance implementing the $100,000 payment requirement," and that "If this order is later lifted, DHS still plans to collect the payment."

Which American Express entity files H-1B petitions?

Two companies file, under three names (our reading). Here is how they appear in FY2024.

As of 2026-11: FY2024 first decisions from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub extract behind our company pages. Those pages also show later years; this post quotes FY2024 only. All three rows carry a New York, NY address. The Hub itself now says it covers FY2009 through FY2026 Q4 (checked 2026-11-01), so pull later years from the Hub directly rather than from a third-party ranking.

Why one company shows up twice

Our reading is that "SE" is where "SERVICES COMPANY INC" was cut off: in our extract the cut-off spelling appears only in FY2024, and in later years the full name carries the filings. USCIS's guide to understanding the Data Hub says "The most common spelling of employer name per unique tax ID is used," and that "one employer with multiple addresses in a given fiscal year will have multiple rows in the data."

Our extract carries no tax IDs, so check it yourself: the Hub identifies each row by "The last four digits of the Petitioner's Tax ID Number." If the digits match across the two Travel Related rows, treat them as one employer. If they differ, read them as two petitioners.

Misconception, then correction. "American Express filed only 79 H-1B petitions in FY2024," or "only 413." Each figure is a single row (79 is the parent, 413 the cut-off Travel Related spelling), and the Hub counts first decisions, not filings. All three rows hold 543 first decisions (our arithmetic). When two sites disagree about Amex, check whether they read different rows, different years, or initial against total.

What the split tells you

• Travel Related Services is mostly a continuing-employment filer. 406 of its 464 FY2024 decisions (about 87.5%, our arithmetic) were continuing approvals, which concern people already in H-1B status, such as extensions. It still had 57 initial approvals.
• American Express Company leans the other way. 41 of its 79 decisions (about 52%, our arithmetic) were initial approvals.
• The city is the petitioner's address, not your job. USCIS says it "is not necessarily the beneficiary(ies) work location." For the lottery and the Labor Condition Application (LCA), what counts is your worksite's area.

If this is your first time in the Hub, our guide to reading the USCIS H-1B employer database walks through each column.

Does Amex sponsor H-1B for new grads?

It files the petition type a new graduate needs, but the Hub cannot say how many went to graduates. The 98 FY2024 initial approvals (our arithmetic) are new-employment cases, which is where an OPT graduate's first cap-subject H-1B normally falls (our reading); they also include people hired from abroad.

Amex's technology careers page describes a one-year Graduate Full-Time Program, lists the US among its hiring locations, and gives the application window as "July to November (application timelines vary by location)." It does not say whether the program sponsors visas, so ask before a long interview loop.

The usual sequence is OPT first, then a registration the following March. A Level I offer gets one entry and a Level IV offer four, so your starting salary's level matters as much as Amex's track record. STEM OPT, covered below, can give you more than one registration season.

Which American Express tech roles fit H-1B sponsorship?

H-1B requires a specialty occupation, one that normally needs a bachelor's or higher degree in a directly related specialty, or its equivalent. At a company that issues cards, runs its own card network and lends, the strongest fits are degree-tied technical and quantitative roles.

Amex's careers page groups tech work into areas including Engineering & Architecture (AI, data, site reliability and software engineering, among others), Cybersecurity and Tech Risk & Control.

A general guide for a card issuer, not data about any Amex posting.

Location matters as much as title. Amex's careers locations page lists US offices in Atlanta, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Sunrise, Florida. USCIS's registration page says selection is weighted by "the highest OEWS wage level" the offered wage meets or exceeds, and those levels are set for the worksite's area, so the same salary can land at a different level in Phoenix than in New York or Palo Alto. Our explainer on how the wage-weighted H-1B lottery works shows how levels turn into entries.

To compare Amex with networks, processors and lenders, see our guide to payments companies that sponsor H-1B beyond the big banks; our look at whether Capital One sponsors H-1B runs the same checks on another large card issuer.

Does American Express hire STEM OPT students?

No public dataset counts Amex's STEM OPT hires, so the answer comes role by role from the posting and the recruiter. Most employer duties arrive with the STEM OPT extension, so the legal entity on your offer matters more at that stage than on day one.

• E-Verify is checked by legal entity. USCIS's STEM OPT page (updated 2026-01-30) requires the employer to "Be enrolled in E-Verify." Search the exact legal name on your offer in E-Verify Employer Search, not the brand; the tool says it will not return a trade name unless the employer gave it at enrollment.
• Your Form I-983 names one employer. USCIS requires the employer to report material changes on a modified I-983, so a move between Amex entities is a conversation for your DSO before it happens.
• File on time. USCIS says you can file the STEM OPT I-765 "up to 90 days before your current OPT employment authorization expires," within 60 days of your DSO's recommendation, and that for a timely filing it "will automatically extend your employment authorization for 180 days."
• Watch your unemployment days. The limit is 90 days on post-completion OPT and 150 in total with STEM OPT, counted for each day "without employer information," per the SEVIS Help Hub.
• Know the December date. E-Verify is carried by the continuing resolution through 2026-12-11 and lapses with it unless Congress passes funding by then; in the 2025 shutdown it was offline from 2025-10-01 until about October 8-9. Ask your DSO how a lapse would affect a pending STEM OPT step.

A worked timeline: an Amex offer on OPT through the H-1B lottery

This example uses real calendar dates but invented facts. Your own EAD, I-20 and notices govern.

If you are not selected in March 2027, a 24-month STEM OPT extension running to mid-2029 typically leaves room for more registration seasons. If your OPT would end before an October 1 start, cap-gap extends status and OPT work for a timely, cap-subject change-of-status petition to April 1 of the fiscal year requested, or the petition start date if earlier. Cap-exempt petitions get no cap-gap, and it ends if the petition is denied, withdrawn, revoked or rejected (USCIS cap-gap page).

How to check American Express's sponsorship yourself

1. Search the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub for "American Express" and note every row, comparing the last four tax ID digits to decide which rows are one petitioner.
2. Separate initial approvals from continuing approvals, and never add rows from different fiscal years.
3. Download the latest LCA disclosure file from DOL's OFLC performance data page (FY2026 Q3, through 2026-06-30) and filter by each Amex entity name for job titles, worksites and wage levels.
4. Look up the exact legal entity on your offer in E-Verify Employer Search if you will need STEM OPT.
5. Ask the recruiter, in writing, which entity will employ you, which worksite your LCA would name, and whether the role supports an H-1B registration.
6. Confirm your OPT dates, unemployment count and STEM OPT window with your DSO, and take petition, transfer and green card questions to Amex's immigration counsel or your own licensed immigration attorney.

Does Amex sponsor green cards?

We could not confirm American Express's PERM volume from the sources we use, so check it in DOL's PERM disclosure data under each entity name; the latest public file covers FY2026 Q3. Our walkthrough of how to check whether a company sponsors green cards shows which columns to read.

Two things you can rule out as of 2026-11-01. American Express is not one of the eight employers in DOL's PERM suspension announced 2026-10-08 (Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini), an action Mayer Brown notes "does not suspend any employer from the H-1B program." It is also not on DOL's H-1B debarment list, effective as of October 1, 2026.

Expect a long runway. DOL's FLAG processing times showed PERM analyst review at January 2026 priority dates as of 2026-10-21 (average 303 days). In the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, the EB-2 Final Action Date is 2013-11-01 for India and 2025-04-01 for the rest of the world. USCIS requires the Dates for Filing chart for November I-485s; consular cases always use Final Action Dates, and the December bulletin was not out as of 2026-11-01. DOL's PERM labor-market-test proposal cleared White House review on 2026-10-23 but is unpublished, so the current 20 CFR 656.17 rules still apply.

One search-noise note: "Amex Green Card" is also the name of a charge card, so results for that phrase are often about the card, not permanent residence.

Does American Express accept H-1B transfers?

Company totals cannot answer this, so ask the recruiter directly. The Hub's glossary lists a separate "Change of Employer" approval count, so download each Amex row (the Hub offers Excel and CSV) and look for it; the totals above do not isolate transfers. Our list of companies most likely to accept an H-1B transfer covers what else to look for.

USCIS's FY2026 cap announcement treats workers who were "counted previously against the cap" and "still retain their cap number" as cap-exempt, so a transfer generally does not go back through the lottery. The USCIS H-1B specialty occupations page (updated 2026-09-21) adds that you may begin working for the new employer "as soon as they properly file a non-frivolous Form I-129 petition on your behalf," provided you have not worked without authorization since your last admission and the petition is filed before your authorized stay ends.

Three dated details. From 2026-11-09 (scheduled), USCIS accepts only the 09/09/26 edition of Form I-129. If you are between jobs, the discretionary grace period still applies; USCIS says you "may have up to 60 consecutive days or until the end of your authorized validity period, whichever is shorter." The proposal to eliminate it (proposed; comments close 2026-11-10) would leave only a 10-day window that runs from the petition's end date, not from a layoff. And the deference proposal (proposed; comments close 2026-11-13) would delete 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5) for I-129 extensions; current deference applies until a final rule says otherwise.

Common mistakes

• Searching one name. American Express appears under three Hub names in FY2024; read all of them, and never mix initial with total or one fiscal year with another.
• Reading the Hub's city as the job location. All three rows show New York, but Amex lists six US office cities. Your worksite is on the LCA.
• Treating initial approvals as campus hires. They include hires from abroad.
• Assuming one entity's E-Verify enrollment covers another, or switching Amex entities on STEM OPT without telling your DSO.
• Quoting the $100,000 payment as current. It is blocked and not collected as of 2026-11-01.
• Using one adviser for everything. OPT, STEM OPT and SEVIS questions go to your DSO; petitions, transfers and green card strategy go to a licensed immigration attorney.

Frequently asked questions

Does Amex sponsor H-1B for new grads?

American Express files new-employment H-1B petitions, the type an OPT graduate's first cap-subject H-1B normally is (our reading), with 98 initial approvals across its three USCIS Data Hub names in FY2024 (our arithmetic). The Hub does not show how many went to new graduates, so ask the recruiter. FY2028 registration had not been announced as of November 1, 2026.

Which American Express entity files H-1B petitions?

The FY2024 Hub data show three names: American Express Travel Related Services Company Inc (twice, once cut off as "Travel Related SE") and its parent, American Express Company. Our reading is that the two Travel Related rows are one company, which you can check against the last four tax ID digits the Hub shows. Read that way, it had 464 first decisions and American Express Company had 79 (our arithmetic).

Does American Express hire STEM OPT students?

No public dataset counts Amex's STEM OPT hires, so the answer comes role by role from the posting and the recruiter. A STEM OPT employer must be enrolled in E-Verify and sign Form I-983, so search the exact legal entity on your offer in E-Verify Employer Search. E-Verify is carried by the continuing resolution through December 11, 2026, and lapses with it unless Congress passes funding by then.

Does Amex sponsor green cards?

We could not confirm American Express's PERM volume from the sources we use, so search DOL's PERM disclosure data, whose latest public file covers FY2026 Q3, under each entity name. As of November 1, 2026, American Express is not among the eight employers in DOL's PERM suspension announced October 8, 2026, and is not on DOL's H-1B debarment list effective October 1, 2026.

Does American Express accept H-1B transfers?

Company totals do not answer this, so ask the recruiter, and look for the change-of-employer counts in the Hub's downloadable data for each Amex row. USCIS treats a worker who was counted against the cap and still holds that cap number as cap-exempt, and the worker may start once the new employer properly files a non-frivolous Form I-129. The 60-day grace period still applies as of November 1, 2026.

Sources

• USCIS, H-1B Employer Data Hub and Understanding Our H-1B Employer Data Hub
• USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupations (updated 2026-09-21), Form I-129 (updated 2026-10-30), H-1B electronic registration process and USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2026 H-1B Cap
• USCIS, STEM OPT extension (updated 2026-01-30), cap-gap extension and adjustment of status filing charts
• Study in the States, SEVIS Help Hub unemployment counter
• E-Verify, Employer Search
• DOL, OFLC performance data, H-1B debarment list and FLAG processing times
• Federal Register, weighted selection final rule, grace-period proposal and deference proposal
• Mayer Brown, DOL enforcement actions in H-1B and PERM fraud probe (October 2026)
• Match.dev, visa sponsorship in engineering job postings (postings read 2026-10-13; single vendor)
• American Express, technology careers and office locations

How we checked this: employer figures come from the FY2024 USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub extract behind our company pages, with every sum labelled as our arithmetic; Amex's career areas, graduate program window and office cities come from its careers site; rules, dates and statuses come from the USCIS, Study in the States, E-Verify, DOL and Federal Register pages above, read on November 1 and 2, 2026.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own I-20, EAD, I-94 and USCIS notices govern; your DSO (for OPT and STEM OPT), a licensed immigration attorney (for petitions and status strategy) or a tax professional who handles nonresident returns (for your paycheck) should confirm anything about your case.

If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and want a shortlist of card issuers and payments employers that sponsor, timed around your OPT dates, F1Jobs can help. We sell a job-search service, so we have a stake here, and we cannot promise interviews, sponsorship or a visa outcome.