O-1 Salary Requirements: There Is No Minimum, but Here Is How 'High Remuneration' Is Judged

The same offer can look high in Raleigh and ordinary in San Jose, so here is how USCIS actually weighs O-1 pay, bonuses and equity.

Part of our guide to the O-1 visa.

The O-1 visa salary requirements start with one fact: there is no minimum salary. As of 2026-11-01, the O-1 rules at 8 CFR 214.2(o) set no wage floor, no prevailing-wage level and no Labor Condition Application, and USCIS publishes no percentile cutoff. Pay matters only if your petitioner claims the high salary criterion, one of eight O-1A criteria. Then USCIS asks whether your past or offered pay is high compared with others in your field and work location, using records such as tax returns, offer letters and compensation surveys. The same offer can pass in one city and fall flat in another.

Status line, as of 2026-11-01: the criterion at 8 CFR 214.2(o)(3)(iii)(B)(8) is in effect as written; PA-2025-02 (2025-01-08) is the main O-1 evidence guidance, and the latest O-1 change is a 2025-08-04 sports alert. PA-2026-05 (in effect since 2026-08-05, challenged in AAUP v. Mullin) lets officers deny without an RFE when required initial evidence is missing. Ending the worker grace period and removing deference are only proposed.

Is there a minimum salary for the O-1 visa?

No. Neither the O-1 regulation nor USCIS sets a minimum salary, wage level or percentile for O-1 workers, and an O-1 petition needs no Labor Condition Application. Salary becomes evidence only when your petitioner claims the high salary criterion, and even then USCIS judges your pay against others in your field and work location.

USCIS still sees your pay: every O petition must include "copies of any written contracts between the petitioner and the alien beneficiary or, if there is no written contract, a summary of the terms of the oral agreement" (8 CFR 214.2, Cornell LII). It just does not test that pay against a floor.

For O-1A (sciences, education, business, athletics) you need a major internationally recognized award or evidence meeting at least three of eight criteria, and then the officer weighs the whole record; the Policy Manual says meeting three criteria "does not necessarily establish that the beneficiary is eligible." Our walkthrough of every O-1 criterion with new-grad examples covers the other seven.

The two O-1 salary criteria, as of 2026-11

What the O-1 visa salary requirements actually test

The petitioner carries the burden. The USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part M, Chapter 4 (current as of 2026-10-27) says "the burden is on the petitioner to provide appropriate evidence establishing that the beneficiary's compensation is high," and that this "may include documentation demonstrating the beneficiary is highly compensated in relation to others in the field." It lists three kinds of evidence:

• "Tax returns, pay statements, or other evidence of past salary or remuneration for services;"
• "Contract, job offer letter, or other evidence of prospective salary or remuneration for services; and"
• "Comparative wage or remuneration data for the beneficiary's field, such as geographical or position-appropriate compensation surveys."

Four more details shape the test:

• Organizational justifications count, such as an HR letter explaining why you are paid above the company's band.
• Named government tools. The chapter points to the BLS Overview of BLS Wage Data by Area and Occupation and DOL's CareerOneStop salary page.
• Pay abroad is compared locally, "rather than by simply converting the salary to U.S. dollars."
• Startup offers need credibility. For founders, officers weigh significant government, venture or angel funding when judging offer letters.

Common misconception: "The O-1A rule doesn't say 'in relation to others in the field', so any big salary counts."

Correction: The O-1A text omits the phrase (the O-1B and EB-1A versions include it), but the Policy Manual still asks whether compensation is "high relative to that of others working in the field." Plan on a comparison either way. The green-card version is covered in our EB-1A high salary criterion guide.

What counts as a high salary for an O-1?

Pay that is high compared with people doing the same kind of work in the same place, shown with matched data. USCIS publishes no dollar figure or percentile, so a salary that is ordinary in one metro or occupation can be high in another.

Some law-firm guides online name the 90th percentile as the bar; others say pay well above the median can work with context. Neither appears in the regulation or the Policy Manual, so treat any percentile as one practitioner's rule of thumb.

Four checks shape whether a comparison holds up. The occupation and pay-measure points come from the chapter's O-1B (arts) guidance, the location point from its O-1A section, and the career-level point is ours; in our reading the same logic applies to any O-1A comparison:

• The occupation description. "Broad descriptions that include multiple occupations or multiple industries may not provide an accurate comparison to others in the field."
• The location. The O-1A guidance points to "geographical or position-appropriate compensation surveys", so the data should match the area where you work or will work.
• The measure. Officers consider "whether the comparison data measures an hourly rate or an annual salary."
• Career level. OEWS reports wages by occupation and area, not by experience, so its percentiles mix new grads with staff engineers. Whether "others in the field" can be narrowed to your career stage is unsettled; that is a call for your attorney.

What salary comparison data does USCIS accept?

O-1 salary comparison sources, as of 2026-11

Our salary research guide for international candidates shows how to pull LCA filings and OEWS tables; the same skills build this exhibit.

Can I use Levels.fyi data for an O-1?

You can include it, but it is unlikely to carry the criterion alone. Levels.fyi is built largely from user submissions, and the Policy Manual's O-1B guidance says user-reported salary data "may not be a valid comparison if, for example, too few users reported their salaries or the data is otherwise not credible or reliable." The O-1A section says nothing different. Its strength is company- and level-matched total compensation; its weakness is a self-selected sample with no published method. If it goes in at all, it belongs beside OEWS for the same metro, with the number of reports behind each figure visible.

Does equity count for O-1 salary?

It can be part of the record, because the O-1A criterion covers a high salary "or other remuneration for services." The harder question is the yardstick. The BLS OEWS questions page lists overtime pay, year-end bonuses, non-production bonuses and stock bonuses among the items excluded from OEWS wages, and says "the OEWS annual wage estimates assume a full-time, year-round schedule of 2,080 hours." A W-2 total with vested RSUs set against OEWS compares total pay with base-style pay.

How each pay component is usually handled, as of 2026-11

For finance professionals, whose year-end bonuses can be a large share of pay, a base-only OEWS comparison measures only part of the pay; a bonus-inclusive survey matched to the firm type and city compares like with like (our reading).

For founders, the Policy Manual says that where high salary "is not readily applicable to the beneficiary's position as an entrepreneur," the petitioner "might present evidence that the beneficiary's highly valued equity holdings in the startup are of comparable significance to the high salary criterion." Our explainer on comparable evidence in STEM O-1A cases covers that argument; for vesting and job changes see equity, RSUs and stock options for visa holders, and take tax questions to a professional who handles nonresident returns.

Worked comparison: one early-career offer in two metros

Priya (hypothetical) finished a master's in computer science in May 2024 and is on STEM OPT. After she was not selected in the H-1B lottery, her employer's attorney is weighing an O-1A in November 2026. Her offer, starting in 2027: $180,000 base, a 10% target bonus and RSUs vesting about $50,000 a year. The employer has offices in San Jose and Raleigh.

BLS OEWS annual wages, Software Developers (SOC 15-1252), May 2025 estimates, retrieved 2026-11-01

Figures are BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (released 2026-05-15) pulled from the BLS public data API; the national and metro tables are linked from the BLS OEWS tables page. Starting with May 2025, BLS publishes specific values for many percentiles that earlier releases showed only as "equal to or greater than ... $239,200 per year", which is why the San Jose 90th percentile shows a figure.

What this shows:

• Same offer, opposite stories. In Raleigh her base sits in the top quarter of all software developers, most of them more experienced than she is. In San Jose it sits below the median.
• Equity does not rescue the OEWS comparison. Her total of about $248,000 would clear the San Jose 75th percentile, but OEWS excludes stock and year-end bonuses. A total-compensation survey for her level and metro is the honest test, and it may not flatter her.
• The location is a fact, not a lever. The comparison follows where she will actually work, as the petition describes.
• The data is older than the offer. May 2025 is the latest release, so a 2027 offer is measured against pay from more than a year earlier.
• Salary may not lead. In San Jose, an attorney might lean on judging, original contributions or a critical role instead (our reading). Even in Raleigh, one criterion does not make a case.

Do I need a high salary to keep O-1 status?

No minimum salary applies once you hold O-1 status. You must work for your petitioner in the activity the approved petition describes, on the terms it states. Pay becomes a status question in three situations.

• Material changes. The petitioner must file an amended petition "to reflect any material changes in the terms and conditions of employment or the beneficiary's eligibility" (8 CFR 214.2(o)(2)(iv)(D)). The regulation does not say whether a pay cut is material, so raise any proposed cut with the petitioner's immigration attorney before you accept it.
• Extensions. Extensions come in increments of up to one year "to continue or complete the same event or activity," and today 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5) tells USCIS to defer to a prior approval involving the same parties and the same underlying facts, unless there was a material error, a material change or new adverse information. DHS has proposed removing that deference; comments close 2026-11-13 (check the Federal Register docket for the outcome after 2026-11-13). A final rule could let an extension re-examine every criterion, salary included; see what the deference proposal means for O-1 extensions.
• New employers. A new employer files its own petition, judged on its own evidence.

If the job ends, the discretionary grace period in 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) still applies to O-1 workers as of 2026-11-01: up to 60 consecutive days, or until the validity period ends if sooner, once per validity period. DHS has proposed eliminating it (RIN 1615-AD22); comments close 2026-11-10 (check the Federal Register for the outcome after that date). The proposal would leave only the 10-day window that runs from the petition's end date, not from a job loss, and it does not touch the separate F-1 grace period. Proclamation 11069's $100,000 restriction covers only H-1B and never names O-1 (text on govinfo). The proclamation stands on paper, but courts have blocked the agency policies that collect the fee, and as of 2026-11-01 it is not being collected.

What the data says about O petitions

In USCIS's I-129 data for FY2026 Q1-Q3, the O classification had a 91.0% approval rate (approvals divided by approvals plus denials, initial and extension petitions) and a 24.2% RFE rate, against 97.0% and 8.5% for H-1B. The data does not show which criteria drew RFEs, and all of it predates PA-2026-05 (in effect since 2026-08-05, challenged). In our reading, an RFE is now a less dependable second chance to fill gaps in a salary comparison.

The USCIS processing-times tool showed 14.5 months for O I-129s (80% of cases, read 2026-11-01). Premium processing promises action within 15 business days for most I-129 classifications, and the G-1055 lists the I-907 fee for O petitions at $2,965. Check both live pages before planning.

How to build the O-1 salary exhibit, step by step

1. Collect Forms W-2, tax returns and pay statements for each year claimed, plus the signed offer letter or contract.
2. Gather bonus letters, equity grant agreements and vesting statements, so every dollar of "other remuneration" is documented.
3. Match the occupation code to the duties you actually perform, with your attorney. An O-1 has no LCA, but if you hold or held an H-1B, the code on your Form ETA-9035 is a consistency check.
4. Download the BLS OEWS metro table for that code and your work location from bls.gov/oes, noting the release (May 2025 as of 2026-11-01).
5. Cross-check the figures in DOL's CareerOneStop salary tool and, for sponsored roles, the LCA disclosure files on dol.gov.
6. Request an HR or payroll letter stating your title, pay band and any reason you are paid above it.
7. Ask the petitioner's immigration attorney whether to claim the criterion at all and how to treat bonuses and unvested equity.
8. Obtain the written advisory opinion (consultation) from a peer group or labor organization, which 8 CFR 214.2(o)(5) makes mandatory apart from narrow exceptions.
9. File Form I-129 through a US employer or US agent. You cannot petition for yourself as an individual, although PA-2025-02 confirms that a company you own can file for you. From 2026-11-09 the USCIS I-129 page says only the 09/09/26 edition is accepted; O-1A and O-1B petitions can also be filed online by PDF upload. The G-1055 fee schedule (edition 10/26/26) lists $1,055 on paper or $1,005 online ($530 for small employers and nonprofits), plus any additional fees that apply.
10. Talk to your DSO before a change of status from F-1 or STEM OPT, so your SEVIS record and employment dates line up. Cap-gap under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vii) covers only cap-subject H-1B petitions, so it does not stretch OPT or STEM OPT work authorization while an O-1 is pending; weigh the processing time above against your EAD end date with your attorney.

Common mistakes

• Assuming there is an O-1 minimum salary or a magic percentile. There is neither; the comparison decides.
• Comparing total compensation with OEWS. OEWS leaves out stock and year-end bonuses. Match the measure.
• Using a national or all-occupations table, or a foreign salary converted to dollars, when local data for your occupation exist.
• Leaning on salary-site screenshots. Self-reported data "may not be a valid comparison."
• Claiming salary just because pay stubs are easy to collect. Pay records show what you earn, not that it is high for your field and city, and under PA-2026-05 an RFE to fix that is not guaranteed.
• Accepting a pay cut without asking. A material change may need an amended petition.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a minimum salary for the O-1 visa?

No. The O-1 rules at 8 CFR 214.2(o) set no minimum salary, no prevailing-wage level and no Labor Condition Application, and USCIS publishes no percentile cutoff. High salary is only one of eight O-1A criteria, and you need at least three (or a major internationally recognized award) before USCIS weighs the whole record. As of November 1, 2026 that is unchanged.

What counts as a high salary for an O-1?

Pay that is high compared with others in your field, shown with comparison data matched to your occupation, position and work location. The USCIS Policy Manual (current as of October 27, 2026) names tax returns, pay statements, offer letters and geographical or position-appropriate compensation surveys. The same base salary can be high in one metro area and below the median in another.

Does stock compensation count toward the O-1 salary criterion?

It can be part of the record, because the O-1A criterion covers a high salary or other remuneration for services. BLS OEWS wages exclude stock bonuses and year-end bonuses, so compare total compensation only with a survey that measures total compensation. How to value unvested grants is a point where practitioners differ, so ask your immigration attorney.

Can I use Levels.fyi data for an O-1?

You can include it as supporting data, but it is unlikely to carry the criterion alone. The USCIS Policy Manual's O-1B guidance warns that user-reported salary data may not be a valid comparison if too few users reported or the data is not credible or reliable. Pair it with BLS OEWS figures for your occupation code and metro area and with a survey that discloses its method.

Do I need a high salary to keep O-1 status?

No minimum salary applies to keeping O-1 status. You must work for your petitioner in the activity the approved petition describes, and 8 CFR 214.2(o)(2)(iv)(D) requires an amended petition for material changes in the terms of employment. The regulation does not say whether a pay cut is material, so ask the petitioner's immigration attorney before you accept one.

Sources

• 8 CFR 214.2, Cornell LII and 8 CFR 214.1, Cornell LII
• USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part M, Chapter 4 (O-1 beneficiaries) and PA-2025-02
• USCIS PA-2026-05, evidentiary standards
• USCIS I-129 data, FY2026 Q3
• USCIS Form I-129, I-129 PDF upload categories, G-1055 fee schedule, premium processing and processing times
• BLS OEWS, OEWS questions and answers and OEWS tables, May 2025
• DOL OFLC performance data
• Federal Register: grace-period NPRM, deference NPRM and Proclamation 11069

How we checked this: we read 8 CFR 214.2(o) and 214.1(c)(5) and (l), the USCIS Policy Manual O-1 chapter (current as of 2026-10-27), the BLS OEWS questions page and May 2025 OEWS estimates from the BLS public data API, USCIS FY2026 Q1-Q3 I-129 data, and the USCIS I-129, G-1055, premium-processing and processing-times pages on 2026-11-01.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own petition, approval notice and I-94, and your immigration attorney (or your DSO for anything F-1, OPT or SEVIS), govern your case.

If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and weighing an O-1 alongside a sponsored job search, F1Jobs can help you target employers that hire international candidates and prepare for the conversations that follow.