Total Compensation Negotiation Guide for H-1B and F-1 Job Seekers
An interactive guide to negotiating a US tech offer as an international candidate. It pairs a total-compensation calculator — base salary, four-year equity grant, signing bonus and vesting schedule — with an H-1B wage-level planner, three ready-to-edit negotiation email scripts, a readiness self-assessment, a market reference table by seniority, and employer-by-employer notes on how offers are usually structured.
Modelling total compensation over four years
The calculator combines base salary, a four-year equity grant, a signing bonus and an estimated annual bonus, then spreads the equity across the vesting schedule you select. Because employers front-load, back-load or split grants evenly across the four years, two offers with identical headline totals can pay out very differently in year one.
H-1B wage levels and how to argue for one
The wage-level tool covers the four Department of Labor classifications used in H-1B filings — entry level, qualified, experienced and fully competent — and supplies justification wording tied to your years of experience. The page treats the level figures as planning estimates; the binding prevailing wage depends on the specific occupation, the work location and current DOL data.
Negotiation scripts you can edit and send
Three email templates are generated from your own numbers: an initial response to the first offer, a follow-up after the employer moves, and an H-1B version that frames the ask around wage level rather than personal preference. Scripts and calculator inputs are saved in your own browser so you can come back to them.
Employer patterns and an action plan
Company tabs summarise how Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple typically structure vesting, signing bonuses, annual bonus targets and stock refreshers. The closing plan is to research market rates, get every offer in writing with the full vesting schedule, run interviews in parallel for leverage, and negotiate equity and signing bonus alongside base.