Level III Qualified
Wage Level III
Two steps up. Two separate requirements each clear the occupational norm.
What Level III means
Level III describes a position exercising judgement, resolving problems without a defined procedure, and often directing or reviewing the work of others. Getting here takes two step-ups, not one, and each one has to stand on its own facts.
The common shape is experience plus one more thing: an advanced degree the occupation doesn’t require at entry, a specialised skill set, or supervision. Two step-ups asserted from the same underlying fact is where a determination gets challenged.
The kind of role that lands here
Senior individual contributors and technical leads. The person a team escalates to, who chooses the approach rather than executing one, and who is often reviewing junior work without formally managing anyone.
For Software Developers, 7,091 of 29,058 certified H-1B filings in FY2025 Q1 to Q4 were filed at Level III, which is 24.4% 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
- Two of the four step conditions met, each on its own evidence.
- Most often: experience beyond the Job Zone norm, plus either education above the usual entry level or a special requirement.
- Supervision counts here only where it isn’t already inherent to the occupation.
Two steps up from the starting point.
What Level III costs, worked
Software Developers in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, wage year 2026-27: Level III is $79.61 an hour, which annualizes at 2,080 hours to $165,589. Across the 500 areas where this occupation's wage was surveyed locally, the median Level III is $120,474 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.