Does Mastercard Sponsor H-1B Visas? Payments Tech Roles, Two Filing Entities and the STEM OPT Path

Mastercard files H-1B petitions under two legal names, and the one printed on your offer decides which data, E-Verify ID and green card filings apply to you.

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

Yes. Mastercard sponsors H-1B visas, and USCIS data shows it files through two legal entities: Mastercard Technologies LLC in O'Fallon, Missouri, and Mastercard International Incorporated in Purchase, New York. In FY2024 the two together had 58 initial-employment approvals, 386 continuing-employment approvals and 5 denials in the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub (our arithmetic from the Hub's first-decision counts). Most of that volume is extensions, amendments and transfers rather than first-time hires, and sponsorship is decided role by role, so the posting and the recruiter answer it for your job.

Status line, as of November 1, 2026: wage-weighted H-1B selection is in effect (since 2026-02-27). FY2028 registration is not announced. The STEM OPT 180-day automatic extension still applies to timely filers. E-Verify is funded only through 2026-12-11 under the current continuing resolution and lapses with it unless Congress passes funding.

Does Mastercard sponsor H-1B? The short answer

In FY2024 USCIS data, Mastercard sponsored H-1B workers through two filers. Mastercard Technologies LLC, filing from O'Fallon, Missouri, had 253 approvals and 1 denial (99.6%). Mastercard International Incorporated, filing from Purchase, New York, had 191 approvals and 4 denials (97.9%). Most were continuing-employment petitions, not new hires.

Mastercard H-1B first decisions, FY2024, by filing entity (USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub extract, as of 2026-11)

Approval rate here means approvals divided by approvals plus denials for FY2024. Two caveats from the USCIS guide to the Data Hub shape how you read it. The counts reflect "USCIS' first decision", so appeals and revocations are excluded. And the city comes from the employer's mailing address, which "is not necessarily the beneficiary(ies) work location." O'Fallon and Purchase tell you who filed, not where every sponsored engineer sits.

These are FY2024 figures. The Data Hub now says it covers FY2009 through FY2026 Q4 (checked 2026-11-01), so check later years in the Hub itself rather than in a third-party ranking that may merge entities or years.

Why does Mastercard have two H-1B filing entities?

Large companies file through the legal entity that actually employs the worker, and the Data Hub groups filings by tax ID: "The most common spelling of employer name per unique tax ID is used." Two tax IDs means two rows, and any list that counts only one of them understates Mastercard's sponsorship.

The two names line up with Mastercard's two main US sites. Its 2024 annual report on Form 10-K calls Mastercard International Incorporated its "principal operating subsidiary" and lists its corporate headquarters in Purchase, New York and its "principal technology and operations center, located in O'Fallon, Missouri." The 10-K does not describe Mastercard Technologies LLC; our reading is that it is the filer tied to the O'Fallon center, since its Data Hub address is there. In FY2024 it was the larger filer and more weighted toward continuing petitions: 92% of its approvals, against 80% at Mastercard International Incorporated (our arithmetic).

Why the entity on your offer letter matters

Ask which entity employs you before you sign.

• Your H-1B paperwork. The petitioner on your Form I-129 and your Labor Condition Application is a specific legal entity, and its LCA and PERM history sit under its own name in DOL data.
• Your STEM OPT paperwork. Form I-983 and the STEM OPT I-765 ask for your employer and its E-Verify company ID. Get the ID for the entity that actually employs you, not the parent's.
• Internal moves. A move to an entity with a different tax ID can count as a change of employer. For STEM OPT, ask your DSO whether you need a new I-983. For H-1B, ask the employer's immigration counsel whether a new petition is needed before you switch.
• Your green card. PERM labor certification is filed by an employer for a specific job and area of intended employment, so a mid-process move between entities or cities is a question for counsel first.

Which Mastercard roles sponsor H-1B?

H-1B requires a specialty occupation, a job that normally needs at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field, so sponsorship clusters in technology. The table below is a general reading guide for payments networks, not data on any single Mastercard posting; the LCA files show which titles each entity actually filed.

For security roles, our guide to cybersecurity engineer roles at fintech firms that sponsor H-1B covers titles, certifications and the degree-field question. If Mastercard is one target among several, compare it with the wider set of payments and fintech companies that sponsor beyond the big banks.

Does Mastercard hire OPT and STEM OPT students?

Whether a posting accepts OPT or STEM OPT candidates is set by the job and the hiring team. STEM OPT adds an employer condition: USCIS's STEM OPT page (updated 2026-01-30) says the employer must "Be enrolled in E-Verify" and sign the Form I-983 training plan, and a properly filed STEM OPT I-765 lists the employer's name as it appears in E-Verify and its E-Verify company ID. Our explainer on why a STEM OPT employer must use E-Verify covers the rule; at Mastercard, the practical point is to get the ID for your entity.

What an E-Verify lapse would mean for a December STEM OPT start

E-Verify is funded through 2026-12-11 under the continuing resolution, P.L. 119-103, which also extends the E-Verify program "for the duration of the CR," according to the Congressional Research Service's overview. It lapses with the CR unless Congress passes funding by 2026-12-11. During the October 2025 shutdown, E-Verify was offline from about 2025-10-01 to 10-08, and employers then had until 2025-10-14 to create cases for people hired during the outage. No one can tell you whether December repeats that, but you can plan so it does not matter.

Worked timeline: post-completion OPT EAD ending 2026-12-31, Mastercard offer in hand (as of 2026-11)

The bigger risk is an entity that is not enrolled yet. The STEM OPT I-765 needs a company ID, and an employer cannot get one while the system is offline (our reading). Do not assume any entity is enrolled; confirm it for yours with HR. A STEM I-765 filed after the OPT EAD expires gets no 180-day extension. Our guide to what an E-Verify outage would mean for STEM OPT and new H-1B hires covers Form I-9 and the three-day rule in detail.

Does Mastercard sponsor H-1B for new grads?

It files new petitions: 58 initial-employment approvals across both entities in FY2024. But "initial" is broader than "new grad". In the two-column format behind our employer pages, which follows USCIS's older Data Hub layout, "initial" groups petitions marked "New employment" or "New concurrent employment" in Part 2 of Form I-129, so the figure includes hires from abroad and second jobs, not only students moving off OPT. No public dataset splits out new graduates.

The usual new-grad sequence is post-completion OPT, then a 24-month STEM OPT extension, then an employer registration in the spring lottery. The USCIS registration page still shows the FY2027 season (March 4-19), and USCIS must announce FY2028 at least 30 calendar days ahead. March 2027 is an expectation, not a date.

Selection is wage-weighted under the final rule in effect since 2026-02-27: Level IV gets four entries and Level I one. USCIS says the weighting is based generally on the highest OEWS wage level the offered wage equals or exceeds, and those levels are set for each occupation and area, so the same salary can land at different levels in the St. Louis area and the New York area. You can look up area wages in DOL's OFLC Wage Search. Our St. Louis H-1B jobs guide covers the O'Fallon labor market and its other sponsors.

Common misconception: "Mastercard approved only 20 new H-1Bs in FY2024." Correction: That is Mastercard Technologies LLC alone. Mastercard International Incorporated added 38 initial approvals, for 58 in total, and "initial" also includes concurrent employment and hires from abroad. Read both rows and name the metric before drawing conclusions.

Does Mastercard accept H-1B transfers?

The data points that way. In FY2024, 386 of 444 approvals across both entities (about 87%, our arithmetic) were continuing-employment petitions. In the two-column format our pages use, "continuing" is everything other than new or new concurrent employment: continuations, changes with the same employer, changes of employer and amended petitions. So treat this as a signal, not a transfer count. The Hub's current guide lists "Change of Employer" as a category of its own, so the Hub itself is where to look for that figure.

A transfer is a new I-129 filed by the Mastercard entity hiring you. USCIS's H-1B specialty occupations page says an eligible worker "may begin working for the new employer as soon as they properly file a non-frivolous Form I-129 petition", or on the requested start date if later, and that someone previously counted toward the cap does not become subject to it again in the same validity period. The steps are in our H-1B transfer process guide.

Two proposals touch transfer and extension holders. Both are proposed, not law:

• Removing deference to prior approvals (NPRM published 2026-10-14): would delete 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5) for I-129 extensions. Comments close 2026-11-13 (check the Federal Register for the outcome after that date). Today's deference still applies.
• Ending the worker 60-day grace period (NPRM published 2026-09-11): would cover H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and other worker classes, not the F-1 grace period after OPT. Comments close 2026-11-10 (check the Federal Register for the outcome after that date). The current 60 days applies.

The $100,000 H-1B payment under Proclamation 11069 is in effect on paper through 2027-09-21 but blocked by court orders and not being collected. Even if collection resumed, USCIS says it does not reach an amendment, change of status or extension that it grants to someone inside the US.

Does Mastercard sponsor green cards?

Employment green cards usually run through PERM labor certification, then Form I-140, then adjustment of status. You can see an employer's PERM history in the DOL OFLC disclosure data, where the latest public file is FY2026 Q3 (through 2026-06-30); search both Mastercard entity names. Mastercard is not among the eight employers in DOL's PERM suspension announced 2026-10-08 (Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini), and that action covers PERM, not H-1B.

Timing is mostly outside the employer's hands. DOL's FLAG processing times showed PERM analyst review at January 2026 priority dates as of 2026-10-21. In the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-2 India has a Final Action Date of 2013-11-01 and a Dates for Filing date of 2015-01-15; EB-2 rest of world is 2025-04-01 and 2026-03-15. USCIS requires the Dates for Filing chart for November I-485s, consular cases always use Final Action Dates, and the December bulletin is not out. Once you have an offer, it is fair to ask HR when the company typically starts PERM.

How to check Mastercard's sponsorship data yourself

1. Search the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub for "Mastercard Technologies" and "Mastercard International", and record each entity's counts separately.
2. Download the LCA disclosure files from the DOL OFLC performance page and filter for both entity names to see job titles, SOC codes, worksites and wage levels.
3. Look up your target worksite's wage levels in the OFLC Wage Search, using the SOC code from a matching LCA.
4. Ask the recruiter in writing which legal entity will employ you, which worksite will appear on the LCA, and whether you would be registered in the next H-1B lottery.
5. Request the entity's E-Verify company ID from HR before you complete Form I-983, and confirm the timeline with your DSO.
6. Route status questions correctly: F-1, OPT, STEM OPT and SEVIS to your DSO; H-1B petitions, transfers and PERM to the employer's immigration attorney, or to your own licensed immigration attorney.

Common mistakes

• Counting one entity. A "Mastercard" figure built from one Data Hub row misses 43% to 57% of FY2024 decisions, depending on the row (our arithmetic).
• Reading continuing approvals as campus hiring. They show extensions, amendments and transfers.
• Treating the city on file as your worksite. The LCA shows the worksite; the Hub shows a mailing address.
• Using the parent's E-Verify ID. Your Form I-983 needs the ID of the entity that employs you.
• Leaving STEM OPT to December. A STEM I-765 filed after the OPT EAD expires gets no 180-day extension, and enrollment questions are easier to settle before 2026-12-11.

Frequently asked questions

Does Mastercard sponsor H-1B for new grads?

Mastercard files new H-1B petitions, with 58 initial-employment approvals across its two filing entities in FY2024 USCIS data. That count also covers hires from abroad and concurrent employment, so it does not show how many went to new graduates. New grads usually start on OPT or STEM OPT and are registered in a later wage-weighted lottery, and each posting and recruiter decides sponsorship for that role.

What is Mastercard Technologies LLC?

It is the Mastercard entity that files H-1B petitions from O'Fallon, Missouri, where Mastercard's 2024 annual report places its principal technology and operations center. In FY2024 it had 20 initial and 233 continuing H-1B approvals and one continuing denial in the USCIS Data Hub. The other filer, Mastercard International Incorporated, files from the Purchase, New York headquarters.

Does Mastercard hire STEM OPT students?

Whether a role accepts OPT or STEM OPT candidates is set by the posting and the hiring team, not company-wide. For STEM OPT, the employer named on your Form I-983 must be enrolled in E-Verify, so ask which Mastercard entity hires you and get its E-Verify company ID. E-Verify is funded only through December 11, 2026 unless Congress passes funding, so settle enrollment questions in November.

Does Mastercard sponsor green cards?

Green card sponsorship normally runs through PERM labor certification, and you can search DOL's PERM disclosure files under both Mastercard entity names to see its filing history. Mastercard is not one of the eight employers named in DOL's PERM suspension announced October 8, 2026. Timing and eligibility are decided by the employer and its immigration counsel, so ask early in your tenure.

Does Mastercard accept H-1B transfers?

The FY2024 data points that way. 386 of the 444 H-1B approvals across both entities were continuing-employment petitions, a grouping that includes change-of-employer filings as well as extensions and amendments. A transfer is a new Form I-129 filed by the entity hiring you, and USCIS says an eligible worker may start once it is properly filed or on the requested start date, whichever is later.

Sources

• USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub (FY2009 to FY2026 Q4, checked 2026-11-01)
• USCIS, Understanding Our H-1B Employer Data Hub
• Mastercard Incorporated, Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 (SEC)
• USCIS, STEM OPT extension page (updated 2026-01-30)
• USCIS, H-1B specialty occupations page (updated 2026-09-21)
• USCIS, H-1B electronic registration process
• Weighted selection final rule (Federal Register)
• Continuing resolution, P.L. 119-103 (enrolled text)
• Congressional Research Service, Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2027 (R49353)
• Removing deference NPRM (Federal Register)
• Worker 60-day grace period NPRM (Federal Register)
• DOL OFLC performance data and disclosure files
• DOL FLAG processing times and OFLC Wage Search
• USCIS adjustment of status filing charts

How we checked this: FY2024 counts come from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub extract behind our employer pages; company facts come from Mastercard's 2024 Form 10-K; policy status comes from the USCIS, DOL, Federal Register, CRS and govinfo pages above, read on 2026-11-01. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own I-20, I-94 and notices govern, and your DSO or a licensed immigration attorney should guide any decision about your status.

Next step

Mastercard is a realistic target if you aim at roles that sponsor, know which entity is hiring, and keep your OPT and STEM OPT dates ahead of December. F1Jobs sells a job-search service for international candidates, so we have a stake in this topic, and we cannot promise interviews, sponsorship or a visa outcome. If you want help building a list of sponsoring payments and fintech employers and running a disciplined search, talk to F1Jobs.