Does Applied Materials Sponsor H-1B Visas? Process, Field Service and Software Roles for International Grads
Applied Materials had 197 FY2024 initial-employment H-1B approvals and no initial denials. How field service, process and software roles differ on OPT.
Part of our guide to companies that sponsor H-1B visas.
Does Applied Materials sponsor H-1B? Yes, including for people new to H-1B. In fiscal year 2024, the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub recorded 519 first decisions for Applied Materials Inc: 197 initial-employment approvals with zero initial denials, 321 continuing-employment approvals and one continuing denial, a 99.8% approval rate (our arithmetic). About 38% of those decisions were initial employment, the category that includes a first H-1B, such as an F-1 graduate moving from OPT. Whether your role is sponsored still depends on the requisition and, for field service jobs, on where you will actually work.
Status line, November 1, 2026. In effect: wage-weighted H-1B selection (since 2026-02-27); the F-1 60-day grace period, because the D/S rule has been blocked by a federal court since 2026-09-14; the worker 60-day grace period; DOL's announced PERM suspension of eight named employers (not Applied Materials). Proposed only: ending the worker grace period (comments close 2026-11-10). Blocked: collection of the $100,000 H-1B payment; the proclamation still stands on paper. Not announced: FY2028 H-1B registration (USCIS must give at least 30 days' notice).
Does Applied Materials sponsor H-1B? The short answer
Yes. Applied Materials Inc is an established H-1B sponsor: in fiscal year 2024 the USCIS Employer Data Hub shows 197 initial-employment and 321 continuing-employment approvals, with one denial across 519 first decisions. Process, mechanical, software and field service roles can all qualify when the job requires a specific bachelor's degree, but each requisition decides sponsorship, so ask the recruiter in writing.
Applied Materials' H-1B numbers, read correctly
Applied Materials Inc, USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, fiscal year 2024 (as of 2026-11)
| Metric (FY2024) | Applied Materials Inc | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Initial-employment approvals | 197 | New employment, including a first H-1B after OPT |
| Initial-employment denials | 0 | None denied |
| Continuing-employment approvals | 321 | Mostly extensions, amendments and similar filings |
| Continuing-employment denials | 1 | One denied |
| Total first decisions | 519 | Overall scale that year |
| Approval rate | 99.8% | 518 of 519 (our arithmetic) |
| Initial share | 38% | 197 of 519 (our arithmetic): a sizable intake of people new to H-1B |
USCIS says the Hub "has data on the first decisions USCIS makes on petitions for initial and continuing employment" and "identifies employers by the last four digits of their tax identification." Later appeals and revocations do not change these counts, and a subsidiary with its own tax ID shows up as a separate employer, so match the legal entity on your offer letter. The extract's primary location is Santa Clara, California. Our Applied Materials employer page shows other years, and the Hub now says it covers fiscal years 2009 through 2026 (quarter 4).
What does Applied Materials pay H-1B workers? We do not publish a salary figure. DOL's disclosure data page posts LCA files, the latest covering FY2026 Q3 (through 2026-06-30): filter for Applied Materials and read the job title, SOC code, wage and worksite columns. An LCA wage is what the employer listed on that filing, not your offer.
What does a semiconductor equipment maker hire international grads for?
Applied Materials builds the machines chipmakers use to deposit, etch, polish and inspect the layers of a chip, so its hiring looks different from a chip designer's.
Typical hiring tracks at a semiconductor equipment maker (industry patterns, not any one team; as of 2026-11)
| Track | Typical work | Degrees often asked for | Visa question to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&D and process engineering | Deposition and etch processes, materials characterization | MS or PhD in materials science, chemical engineering, physics or EE | Is the requisition sponsored, and does the work need an export license? |
| Mechanical and systems engineering | Chamber, vacuum, thermal and robotics design | BS or MS in mechanical engineering or mechatronics | Which SOC code and wage level will the LCA use? |
| Software and data | Tool-control software, factory automation, tool-data analytics | BS or MS in computer science or computer engineering | Is this team hiring visa holders this cycle? |
| Field service and customer engineering | Installing and maintaining tools inside customer fabs, often far from Santa Clara | Often a BS in electrical or mechanical engineering; some postings accept technician training | Where is my home base, and how will customer-site work be covered on the LCA? |
Hardware has the stronger postings market. In Indeed Hiring Lab's October 2026 snapshot (2026-10-22; February 1, 2020 = 100), the engineering postings index stood around 145 and software development around 78-79, the lowest of the five categories charted. That is national postings data, not company data or an applicant count. Our guides to semiconductor jobs and H-1B sponsorship in the CHIPS Act era and to materials science and engineering H-1B sponsorship cover the wider field by degree.
The degree test matters more than the title. USCIS's Data Hub page describes H-1B jobs as requiring "a bachelor's degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent." If a field posting accepts an associate degree or general experience, ask early whether it is open to sponsorship.
Export controls. BIS says "a deemed export refers to the sharing or release of controlled technology or source code to a foreign person within the United States" (BIS), and Part 6 of Form I-129 asks the employer to certify whether it needs a license to release such technology to you. That determination is the employer's, and it can slow an R&D or process offer.
Do field service engineer roles get sponsored?
They can be. Nothing in the H-1B or STEM OPT rules excludes jobs that travel, but a field role must answer three questions an office job settles automatically: where you work, which wage level counts and who trains you.
How H-1B rules treat travel to customer fabs
The Labor Condition Application covers your place of employment, which DOL defines as "the worksite or physical location where the work actually is performed" (20 CFR 655.715).
Customer-site work under DOL's LCA rules (as of 2026-11)
| Pattern | How DOL treats it | What the employer must do |
|---|---|---|
| Short troubleshooting visits in a job that is travel by nature | Not a worksite if each visit lasts no more than five consecutive workdays (10 if you mostly work at one site) and the other conditions in the rule are met | Your home station stays your place of employment |
| A placement outside your LCA area for days or weeks | Short-term placement: up to 30 workdays in a one-year period, or 60 if conditions are met (20 CFR 655.735) | Pay the required wage plus actual lodging, travel, meals and incidentals; not usable for an initial placement |
| Working at one customer fab for weeks or months at a time | That fab is a worksite | A certified LCA must cover that area (outside your LCA's area, once short-term limits run out); counsel decides whether USCIS also needs an amended petition |
The regulation's examples draw the line. Not a worksite: "A computer engineer sent out to customer locations to 'troubleshoot' complaints regarding software malfunctions." A worksite: "A computer engineer who works on projects or accounts at different locations for weeks or months at a time." A field engineer stationed inside one customer's fab looks like the second case (our reading). Our guide to when an H-1B needs an amendment covers the USCIS side.
Field service and the wage-weighted lottery
Under weighted selection, in effect since 2026-02-27, a registration lists the "highest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level that the beneficiary's proffered wage equals or exceeds" for the job's SOC code in the area(s) of intended employment (USCIS registration page). Level IV gets four entries; Level I gets one. The final rule adds: "If the beneficiary will work in multiple locations," the registrant must pick the lowest level the wage reaches across them.
OEWS wages vary by area, so the same salary can reach a different level in Santa Clara than in a fab region like the one in our Phoenix semiconductor and tech jobs guide. Whether short visits that DOL does not count as worksites affect that choice is a question for the employer's counsel. FY2028 registration is not announced as of 2026-11-01; our FY2028 registration dates guide tracks it.
Field service on STEM OPT
USCIS says "STEM OPT participants may engage in a training experience that takes place at a site other than the employer's principal place of business as long as all of the training obligations are met" (USCIS STEM OPT page). The catch for fab work: the employer "may not assign, or otherwise delegate, its training responsibilities to a non-employer third party," such as a customer. Your supervisors "may be either employees of the employer, or contractors who the employer has directly retained," never the customer's staff or contractors.
The I-983 names your training site, and DHS "may, at its discretion, conduct a site visit." Material changes go on a modified I-983 "at the earliest available opportunity," so if your assigned site changes, ask your DSO what to submit; see our guide to amending Form I-983 after filing.
Does Applied Materials hire OPT students?
H-1B data cannot count its OPT hires, because the Hub records petitions, not OPT employment. Its 197 FY2024 initial-employment approvals show it brings people into H-1B status for the first time, which can include F-1 graduates on OPT or STEM OPT as well as hires from abroad. Post-completion OPT allows 90 days of unemployment and STEM OPT 150 days in aggregate (SEVIS Help Hub). Post-completion OPT does not require an E-Verify employer; the STEM OPT extension does. For the later move to H-1B, the $100,000 payment is not being collected as of 2026-11-01: the USCIS I-129 page says a court "vacated agency guidance implementing the $100,000 payment requirement," adding, "If this order is later lifted, DHS still plans to collect the payment." Changes of status that USCIS grants inside the US were never covered.
Is Applied Materials E-Verify for STEM OPT?
Check it yourself. STEM OPT requires the employer to "remain a participant in good standing with E-Verify, as determined by USCIS," and the E-Verify Employer Search warns that a multi-site listing "does not necessarily mean that all of the hiring sites are enrolled in E-Verify."
- Search "Applied Materials", and the exact entity on your offer letter, in the E-Verify Employer Search on e-verify.gov.
- Confirm the status reads enrolled and the hiring-site states include the state where you will be hired.
- Ask HR for the E-Verify company identification number for your Form I-983.
- Review the I-983 with your manager so duties, supervisor and training site match the real job, then send it to your DSO for the SEVIS recommendation.
- File the STEM OPT Form I-765 with USCIS before your OPT EAD expires, in the window your DSO confirms; a timely filing keeps the 180-day automatic extension, which the 2026-10-14 EAD rule did not change.
Our E-Verify employer lookup walkthrough shows each screen. E-Verify is funded under the stopgap law (P.L. 119-103) through 2026-12-11 and lapses with it unless Congress passes funding by then; in the 2025 shutdown it went offline on 2025-10-01 for about a week. If you start after 2026-12-11, ask HR how a lapse would affect onboarding.
Does Applied Materials sponsor green cards?
We do not publish its PERM counts, and none of DOL's announced actions names it. On 2026-10-08 DOL said it would stop processing PERM cases for Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini; that action, as Mayer Brown notes, "does not suspend any employer from the H-1B program." Applied Materials is also absent from DOL's H-1B debarment list effective as of October 1, 2026. When it starts PERM for you is company policy, so ask HR, and check its certified cases in the PERM file on DOL's disclosure page (latest FY2026 Q3).
As of 2026-10-21, DOL FLAG showed PERM analyst review at January 2026 priority dates, averaging 303 days; check the page for the live figure. DOL's PERM labor-market-test proposal (RIN 1205-AC29) cleared White House review on 2026-10-23 but is unpublished, so current rules under 20 CFR 656.17 apply. After PERM and the I-140, your country of chargeability sets the wait.
November 2026 Visa Bulletin, employment-based (Final Action Date / Dates for Filing)
| Category | India | China | Rest of world |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-2 | 2013-11-01 / 2015-01-15 | 2021-10-01 / 2023-01-01 | 2025-04-01 / 2026-03-15 |
| EB-3 | 2014-01-22 / 2015-01-15 | 2022-01-22 / 2024-04-01 | 2024-06-15 / 2024-08-01 |
USCIS requires the Dates for Filing chart for November I-485s (USCIS chart page); consular cases always use Final Action Dates. The December bulletin is not out, so any December date you see is a forecast.
A worked timeline: a field service offer on OPT
A hypothetical MS mechanical engineering graduate takes a field service offer based near a customer fab in Arizona. Your own EAD, I-20 and notices govern your dates. USCIS's processing-times tool showed 80% of F-1 student I-765s completed within 5 months (read 2026-11-01).
Hypothetical OPT to H-1B path for a field role (rules as of 2026-11)
| Date | Event | Rule that applies |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-12-18 | Program ends | F-1 60-day grace period applies; the D/S rule has been blocked by a federal court since 2026-09-14 |
| 2027-02-15 | OPT EAD starts; you join | 90-day unemployment limit; no E-Verify needed on post-completion OPT |
| Not announced (March 2027 is only an expectation) | FY2028 registration, if the employer registers you | At least 30 days' notice; weighted; lowest level if placed in several locations |
| If selected | I-129 change of status, typically for a 2027-10-01 start, with an LCA for your real worksite | Even if collection resumed, the $100,000 payment never covered a change of status granted inside the US; OPT outlasts the start date, so no cap-gap needed |
| Before 2028-02-14 (OPT EAD end) | If not selected, STEM OPT filed with an I-983 naming the real site and an employer-side trainer | E-Verify required; 180-day extension if timely; 150-day aggregate unemployment limit |
Schools including Cornell, Johns Hopkins and USC advise against travelling abroad while an initial OPT application is pending; take any trip plan, including one between an H-1B approval and its start date, to your DSO and an immigration attorney first.
Common mistakes
- Assuming field service can't be sponsored. The degree requirement and the worksite plan decide it, not the travel.
- Assuming the LCA follows you anywhere. Weeks or months at one customer fab outside your LCA's area needs an LCA for that area once short-term placement limits run out.
- Letting the customer train you on STEM OPT. Your I-983 trainer must be the employer's staff or a contractor it retained directly.
- Searching the wrong entity. Match the legal name and tax ID on your offer letter to the Hub and E-Verify listings.
- Confusing the two grace periods. The worker 60-day period is the one proposed for elimination; the F-1 60-day period is separate and still applies because the D/S rule is blocked.
Frequently asked questions
Does Applied Materials sponsor H-1B for new grads?
Yes. In fiscal year 2024 USCIS approved 197 initial-employment H-1B petitions for Applied Materials Inc with zero initial denials, about 38% of its 519 first decisions (our arithmetic). Initial employment includes a first H-1B, such as an F-1 graduate moving from OPT. Sponsorship is still decided per requisition, so confirm it with the recruiter in writing.
Does Applied Materials hire OPT students?
H-1B data cannot count OPT hires, because the USCIS Hub records petitions, not OPT employment. Its 197 FY2024 initial-employment approvals show a sizable intake of people new to H-1B, which can include F-1 graduates. Post-completion OPT needs no E-Verify employer; STEM OPT does. As of 2026-11-01 the OPT unemployment limits are 90 days, or 150 in total with STEM OPT.
Does Applied Materials sponsor green cards?
We do not publish its PERM counts, and none of DOL's announced actions names it. It is not among the eight employers whose PERM cases DOL said on 2026-10-08 it would stop processing, nor on DOL's H-1B debarment list effective as of October 1, 2026. Ask HR when it starts PERM, and check DOL's PERM disclosure file (latest FY2026 Q3).
Do field service engineer roles get sponsored?
They can be; no H-1B or STEM OPT rule excludes jobs that travel. Under DOL's LCA rules, short troubleshooting visits are not new worksites, but a customer fab where you work for weeks or months at a time is one, and once short-term placement limits run out a certified LCA must cover its area. Multi-location roles register at their lowest wage level, and on STEM OPT the customer cannot be your trainer. Rules as of 2026-11-01.
Is Applied Materials E-Verify for STEM OPT?
Check the E-Verify Employer Search on e-verify.gov with the exact legal entity on your offer letter, and confirm your hiring-site state. STEM OPT requires the employer to remain a participant in good standing with E-Verify, and a listing does not prove every hiring site is enrolled. E-Verify is funded through 2026-12-11 under the stopgap law and lapses with it unless Congress passes funding by then.
Sources
- USCIS, H-1B Employer Data Hub
- USCIS, H-1B electronic registration process
- Federal Register, weighted selection final rule (2025-12-29)
- USCIS, STEM OPT extension
- USCIS, Form I-129
- 20 CFR 655.715 and 20 CFR 655.735
- E-Verify Employer Search
- SEVIS Help Hub, unemployment counter
- DOL OFLC disclosure data, DOL H-1B debarment list, DOL FLAG processing times
- USCIS, adjustment of status filing charts and USCIS case processing times
- Mayer Brown, DOL enforcement actions in the H-1B and PERM fraud probe (2026-10)
- BIS, deemed exports
- Indeed Hiring Lab, October 2026 snapshot
How we checked this: Applied Materials' figures come from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub's FY2024 data; we read the USCIS, DOL, E-Verify, BIS, Indeed and Federal Register pages above and the LCA regulations (20 CFR 655.715 and 655.735) between 2026-11-01 and 2026-11-02.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own I-20, EAD, I-94 and USCIS notices govern; take F-1, OPT and SEVIS questions to your DSO, and petition or status strategy to a licensed immigration attorney.
If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and targeting equipment makers like Applied Materials, F1Jobs helps international candidates run a focused search for employers that sponsor H-1B.
Frequently asked questions
Does Applied Materials sponsor H-1B for new grads?
Yes. In fiscal year 2024 USCIS approved 197 initial-employment H-1B petitions for Applied Materials Inc with zero initial denials, about 38% of its 519 first decisions (our arithmetic). Initial employment includes a first H-1B, such as an F-1 graduate moving from OPT. Sponsorship is still decided per requisition, so confirm it with the recruiter in writing.
Does Applied Materials hire OPT students?
H-1B data cannot count OPT hires, because the USCIS Hub records petitions, not OPT employment. Its 197 FY2024 initial-employment approvals show a sizable intake of people new to H-1B, which can include F-1 graduates. Post-completion OPT needs no E-Verify employer; STEM OPT does. As of 2026-11-01 the OPT unemployment limits are 90 days, or 150 in total with STEM OPT.
Does Applied Materials sponsor green cards?
We do not publish its PERM counts, and none of DOL's announced actions names it. It is not among the eight employers whose PERM cases DOL said on 2026-10-08 it would stop processing, nor on DOL's H-1B debarment list effective as of October 1, 2026. Ask HR when it starts PERM, and check DOL's PERM disclosure file (latest FY2026 Q3).
Do field service engineer roles get sponsored?
They can be; no H-1B or STEM OPT rule excludes jobs that travel. Under DOL's LCA rules, short troubleshooting visits are not new worksites, but a customer fab where you work for weeks or months at a time is one, and once short-term placement limits run out a certified LCA must cover its area. Multi-location roles register at their lowest wage level, and on STEM OPT the customer cannot be your trainer. Rules as of 2026-11-01.
Is Applied Materials E-Verify for STEM OPT?
Check the E-Verify Employer Search on e-verify.gov with the exact legal entity on your offer letter, and confirm your hiring-site state. STEM OPT requires the employer to remain a participant in good standing with E-Verify, and a listing does not prove every hiring site is enrolled. E-Verify is funded through 2026-12-11 under the stopgap law and lapses with it unless Congress passes funding by then.