Level I Entry
Wage Level I
The floor. A job whose requirements sit at what the occupation itself ordinarily asks for, and no further.
What Level I means
Level I is where every determination starts. It describes a position performing routine work under close supervision, with limited exercise of judgement, where the employer asks for the education and experience the occupation ordinarily requires and nothing beyond it.
It isn’t a junior title. A job keeps Level I as long as no requirement clears the occupation norm, whatever the role is called. The title on the offer letter has no weight in the worksheet.
The kind of role that lands here
New graduates and first-role hires: a software developer straight out of a degree, an analyst learning the internal systems, an engineer working to a defined spec with a reviewer above them.
For Software Developers, 3,117 of 29,058 certified H-1B filings in FY2025 Q1 to Q4 were filed at Level I, which is 10.7% of them. That's what employers filed, not what any of those jobs should have been.
Level mix for Software Developers (15-1252) from the DOL Labor Condition Application disclosure data, FY2025 Q1 to Q4, certified H-1B filings only.
What the worksheet inputs look like
- Experience within what the occupation Job Zone treats as ordinary.
- Education at the usual entry level for the occupation, not above it.
- No special skills or other requirements beyond the occupational norm.
- No supervisory duties, or supervision that the occupation already carries.
No steps up. The determination stays where it started.
What Level I costs, worked
Software Developers in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, wage year 2026-27: Level I is $52.81 an hour, which annualizes at 2,080 hours to $109,845. Across the 500 areas where this occupation's wage was surveyed locally, the median Level I is $79,560 a year.
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | $52.81 | $109,845 |
| Level II | $66.21 | $137,717 |
| Level III | $79.61 | $165,589 |
| Level IV | $93.01 | $193,461 |
Software Developers (15-1252), New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. ALC_Export.csv, OFLC_Wages_2026-27.zip, wage year July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
The other three levels
None of this is a wage determination. Run your own facts through the calculator, then verify in FLAG before you file. The disclaimer says the rest.