Does AT&T Sponsor H-1B Visas? Dallas Tech, Network and Cybersecurity Roles for International Grads

Only 20 of AT&T Services' 466 FY2024 H-1B approvals were new employment. See which entity files, how new grads get in and where transfers fit.

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

Yes, AT&T sponsors H-1B visas, but nearly all of that sponsorship goes to people who already hold H-1B status. In fiscal year 2024, AT&T Services, Inc. received 466 H-1B approvals from USCIS, and only 20 were for new employment. The other 446, about 96%, were continuing cases such as extensions, amendments and changes of employer. For an OPT or STEM OPT new grad, the route exists but is narrow.

Where things stand on 2026-11-01. Wage-weighted H-1B selection is in effect (since 2026-02-27); FY2028 registration is not announced, and USCIS must give at least 30 days' notice. The $100,000 payment under Proclamation 11069 is in effect on paper, but courts have blocked the agency policies behind it and it is not collected; in-US changes of status, amendments and extensions that USCIS grants were never covered (USCIS H-1B page, 2026-09-21). The STEM OPT 180-day automatic extension is in effect for timely filers. The OPT fee rule is only proposed (comments close 2026-11-09).

Does AT&T sponsor H-1B? What the FY2024 numbers show

AT&T's H-1B sponsorship shows up in USCIS data mainly under AT&T Services, Inc. (spelled "AT AND T SERVICES INC"), listed at a Dallas, Texas mailing address. In FY2024 the Hub recorded 467 first decisions for it: 466 approvals and 1 denial, a 99.8% approval rate. Just 20 approvals were for new employment, so about 96% went to workers already in H-1B status.

The figures come from the USCIS extract behind our AT&T Services H-1B company page, drawn from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub. We use FY2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) as the reference year; the company page also lists later years.

AT&T Services, Inc., H-1B first decisions, FY2024 (as of 2026-11)

USCIS says the Hub "reflects USCIS' first decision" and that "Subsequent decisions, such as on an appeal or revocation, are excluded." The fiscal year is the one in which USCIS first recorded the decision, not the lottery year.

Which AT&T entity files H-1B petitions?

In the data our site uses, the only AT&T employer above our company-page threshold is AT&T Services, Inc. Your actual sponsor, though, is the legal entity named on your offer letter, your Labor Condition Application (LCA) and Form I-129, so confirm that name in writing.

USCIS keys employers to tax IDs, not brands. Its Understanding Our H-1B Employer Data Hub page says: "The most common spelling of employer name per unique tax ID is used." A company with several subsidiaries can appear as several records. In practice:

• Search the spelling, not the logo. "AT&T" alone may miss "AT AND T SERVICES INC". Try "AT AND T", "AT T" and "ATT".
• Expect smaller records we do not show. Our company pages cover only employers past a minimum filing volume.
• Do not read Dallas as your worksite. The city is the employer's mailing address and "is not necessarily the beneficiary(ies) work location."

The entity also decides whose E-Verify enrollment counts for STEM OPT and who files PERM. If you are later moved between AT&T entities, ask an immigration attorney whether that needs a new petition.

What a 96% continuing share means for you

The initial bucket is new H-1B employment; the continuing bucket covers H-1B workers who are renewing, changing roles or moving in from another H-1B employer. At AT&T Services, new employment was about 4% of FY2024 approvals (20 of 466, our arithmetic). Our T-Mobile H-1B guide shows a similar renewal-heavy split at another carrier.

The Hub's explainer lists the six Form I-129 bases for classification, from new employment to change of employer and amended petition, but does not map each one to a bucket, so counting changes of employer and amendments as continuing is our reading.

Common misconception: "AT&T Services had 466 H-1B approvals in FY2024, so it must be hiring hundreds of international graduates."

Correction: Only 20 of those approvals were for new employment. The 446 continuing approvals went to people already in H-1B. Even the 20 are not all new grads: new employment also covers workers arriving from abroad and people changing from statuses other than F-1.

Does AT&T sponsor H-1B for new grads?

Yes, but in FY2024 that meant 20 initial approvals. AT&T is a for-profit company, not a cap-exempt type such as a university, an affiliated nonprofit or a nonprofit or governmental research organization (our reading of 8 CFR 214.2(h)), so a new grad's first AT&T H-1B usually needs a lottery selection.

Since 2026-02-27 that lottery is weighted under the weighted selection final rule: a Level IV registration gets four entries, down to one at Level I. An entry-level network or security analyst offer at Level I or II carries fewer chances than a senior architect's; see how each wage level changes your lottery odds.

A worked timeline for a December 2026 graduate (hypothetical dates)

Say you finish a STEM-designated master's in cybersecurity in December 2026, an AT&T team hires you on OPT, and your EAD runs 2027-01-25 to 2028-01-24. Your own I-20, EAD and DSO govern the real dates.

Hypothetical OPT and STEM OPT path with a cap-subject employer (rules as of 2026-11-01)

Under the OPT fees proposal, the school is the legal payer and may pass the cost on. The SEVIS Help Hub unemployment counter explains how unemployment days are counted.

Does AT&T hire STEM OPT students?

AT&T Services' 20 FY2024 initial approvals show it moves some people into H-1B from other statuses, which can include F-1 OPT and STEM OPT, but the Hub does not say how many were students. Treat AT&T OPT jobs that lead to an H-1B as possible, not proven.

USCIS's STEM OPT page requires an employer enrolled in E-Verify, in good standing, that signs Form I-983, the training plan. We did not confirm AT&T's enrollment. Look up the hiring entity in the E-Verify Employer Search, which warns that enrolled names may not match familiar brand names and that a multi-site employer may choose which sites participate. E-Verify's authority runs through 2026-12-11 unless Congress passes funding by that date; if your start falls near then, ask HR about onboarding during a pause.

Does AT&T accept H-1B transfers?

The data is consistent with it but cannot isolate transfers. Change of employer sits in the continuing bucket (our reading), and continuing cases were 446 of AT&T Services' 466 FY2024 approvals, a number that also holds extensions and amendments. Ask the recruiter whether the team hires people who need a transfer.

The mechanics favor experienced H-1B holders. If you were already counted against the cap, a new cap-subject employer's petition generally skips the lottery, and the portability rule at 8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(H) generally lets an eligible worker start once the new petition is properly filed; confirm your start date with an attorney. Coming from a university or other cap-exempt employer usually needs a cap selection unless you were counted before. On the $100,000 payment, the USCIS I-129 page (updated 2026-10-30) warns, "If this order is later lifted, DHS still plans to collect the payment." An in-US transfer asks USCIS to extend your stay, so our reading is that a granted one was never covered. Compare companies most likely to accept an H-1B transfer.

Rules that touch an AT&T transfer or extension (as of 2026-11-01)

AT&T layoffs and your H-1B: what to check

We quote no AT&T layoff figure because we could not verify one against a dated primary source. Behind any headline, look for the dated original: a company statement, an SEC filing or a WARN notice. DOL's WARN Act page says the law "helps ensure advance notice in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs."

Executive Order 14431 makes an employer's layoffs a factor in H-1B administration, but as of 2026-11-01 no agency has published guidance on how, and it creates no automatic denial; our EO 14431 explainer tracks what is known. If you hold H-1B at AT&T and your job ends, the current grace period of up to 60 days applies; talk to an immigration attorney in its first days, not its last.

Does AT&T sponsor green cards?

The H-1B Hub cannot answer this. Most employer green cards start with PERM labor certification, and DOL posts PERM decisions in quarterly disclosure files on its OFLC performance data page; the latest is FY2026 Q3. Search it for every AT&T spelling, and use our PERM lookup method to judge how routinely an employer files.

On 2026-10-08 DOL announced it was suspending eight employers from PERM; press reports name Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini, not AT&T. Mayer Brown's summary notes the action "does not suspend any employer from the H-1B program." AT&T is also absent from DOL's H-1B debarment list ("effective as of October 1, 2026").

Employer green card stages, with dated snapshots (as of 2026-11)

Check live figures on DOL's FLAG processing times and USCIS's Visa Bulletin filing charts. DOL's PERM labor-market-test proposal (RIN 1205-AC29) cleared OIRA review on 2026-10-23 but is unpublished, so current PERM rules (20 CFR 656.17) apply. If the process will outlast your six H-1B years, ask an attorney early about AC21 extensions (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D)-(E)).

Which AT&T roles sponsor visas? Dallas tech, network and cybersecurity

The Hub has no job titles; DOL's LCA disclosure files do. Each LCA record lists the job title, SOC code, wage level and worksite; the latest file (FY2026 Q3) sits on the same OFLC page.

Filter the employer column for the AT&T spellings above, then by SOC code: 15-1252 (software developers), 15-1241 (computer network architects), 15-1244 (network and computer systems administrators) and 15-1212 (information security analysts). The worksite column shows whether roles sit in Dallas. See also our guides to network engineer H-1B sponsorship and pay, telecom and 5G engineering roles and cybersecurity jobs that sponsor H-1B.

A Texas note: Gov. Abbott's 2026-01-27 letter bars state agencies with governor-appointed heads and public universities from filing new H-1B petitions without the Texas Workforce Commission's written permission until 2027-05-31. It is addressed to state government, so it does not reach private employers like AT&T (our reading). For the local market, see our Dallas-Fort Worth H-1B jobs guide and the Dallas metro sponsor list.

How to check AT&T's H-1B sponsorship yourself

1. Search the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub for "AT AND T", "AT T" and "ATT", and match each record to the entity on your offer letter.
2. Download the latest LCA disclosure file from DOL OFLC's performance data page and filter it for those names.
3. Compare the wage level on similar LCAs with your offer, since it sets your weighted-lottery entries.
4. Look up the hiring entity in the E-Verify Employer Search before counting on STEM OPT.
5. Open the PERM disclosure file on the same DOL page if a green card is part of your plan.
6. Ask the recruiter whether the role will register candidates in a future cap season.
7. Send your DSO the offer and draft Form I-983 before filing the STEM OPT I-765, and take petition or transfer questions to a licensed immigration attorney.

Common mistakes

• Reading 467 decisions as 467 openings. Only 20 FY2024 approvals were new employment.
• Treating 446 as a transfer count. Continuing cases mix extensions, amendments and changes of employer.
• Assuming Dallas is your worksite. The Hub city is a mailing address; the LCA shows the worksite.
• Expecting the Texas freeze to block AT&T. It covers state agencies and public universities.
• Hearing "we sponsor" as a promise. No employer can guarantee a lottery selection.

Frequently asked questions

Does AT&T sponsor H-1B for new grads?

Yes, but in small numbers. AT&T Services, Inc. had 20 new-employment H-1B approvals out of 466 in FY2024, per USCIS data. AT&T is cap-subject, so a new grad usually works on OPT or STEM OPT first and then needs a lottery selection, which has been wage-weighted since 2026-02-27.

Does AT&T accept H-1B transfers?

The data is consistent with it but cannot prove it. In FY2024, 446 of AT&T Services' 466 approvals were continuing cases, a bucket that mixes changes of employer with extensions and amendments. As of 2026-11-01 the $100,000 payment is blocked and not collected, and it never covered in-US changes of status, amendments or extensions that USCIS grants.

Does AT&T sponsor green cards?

The H-1B Employer Data Hub does not say. Search DOL's PERM disclosure files, the latest covering FY2026 Q3, for each AT&T entity name. AT&T is not among the eight employers DOL announced on 2026-10-08 it was suspending from PERM.

Does AT&T hire STEM OPT students?

Possibly, but the data does not show it. STEM OPT needs an E-Verify employer that signs Form I-983. We did not confirm AT&T's enrollment, so check the E-Verify Employer Search and ask HR for the E-Verify company ID. As of 2026-11-01, a STEM OPT I-765 filed before your OPT EAD expires still gets the 180-day automatic extension.

Which AT&T entity files H-1B petitions?

AT&T Services, Inc. (spelled AT AND T SERVICES INC, with a Dallas, Texas mailing address) is the only AT&T record above our company-page threshold in USCIS data. USCIS groups records by tax ID, so smaller AT&T entities can appear separately. The entity named on your offer letter and Form I-129 is your actual sponsor.

Sources

• USCIS: H-1B Employer Data Hub, Understanding Our H-1B Employer Data Hub, H-1B specialty occupations, Form I-129, STEM OPT, Visa Bulletin filing charts
• DOL: OFLC performance data, H-1B debarment list, FLAG processing times, WARN Act
• Federal Register: weighted selection, OPT fees NPRM, deference NPRM, grace-period NPRM, EO 14431
• SEVIS Help Hub unemployment counter, E-Verify Employer Search, 8 CFR 214.2 (Cornell LII), Gov. Abbott's H-1B letter to state agency heads (2026-01-27), Mayer Brown on DOL's PERM actions

How we checked this: we read the FY2024 USCIS row behind our AT&T Services company page, then opened each official page above on 2026-11-01 and 2026-11-02, including the Hub explainer, the USCIS I-129, H-1B and STEM OPT pages, DOL's FLAG, debarment and WARN pages, and Gov. Abbott's letter.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own I-20, EAD, I-797 and I-94 govern your situation, so take F-1, OPT and STEM OPT questions to your DSO and petition questions to a licensed immigration attorney.

If AT&T and other Dallas employers are on your list and an OPT or STEM OPT clock is running, F1Jobs can help you build a sponsor-aware target list and plan your applications around it.