2016 H1B Visa Petitions For Each State - Ranked by Number of Petitions

According to the Department of Home Security (DHS), H1B visas are granted to the following categories of applicants:

1. Specialty Occupations
2. DOD Researcher and Development Project Worker
3. Fashion Model

I must admit that I was not aware of the current "carnage" and screaming shortages in the fashion model market. Maybe your guess would be better than mine regarding the identity and the interests of the lobby groups who "helped" our government define the above categories; however, the current non-resident worker employment policy of the U.S. are practiced, based upon the H1B categories mentioned above.
(see: https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations-dod-cooperative-research-and-development-project-workers-and-fashion-models).

The table below lists the number of H1B visa petitions submitted by US employers in fiscal year 2016, organized by State rank. The Number of LCA column reflects the number of Labor Condition Application(LCA) filed for H1B Visas. . This number includes new, renewed and transferred LCAs. 

Note that in some cases the visa sponsors (employers) specify a salary range, instead of a single numerical salary value. In such case the Average Salary column reflects the average proffered salary on the LCA application or the attached Form 9035. 

Click on the embedded links to get further breakdown of the information (Courtesy of:  http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2017-H1B-Visa-Category.aspx?T=WS)

Rank	Work State	Number of LCA *	Average Salary
1	California	119,744	$100,542
2	Texas	68,460	$79,940
3	New York	58,660	$92,567
4	New Jersey	48,365	$78,908
5	Illinois	35,177	$81,842
6	Massachusetts	24,887	$87,638
7	Georgia	24,859	$79,504
8	Pennsylvania	23,376	$84,692
9	Washington	23,146	$102,779
10	Michigan	20,966	$77,545
11	Florida	20,848	$78,039
12	Virginia	18,902	$81,852
13	North Carolina	18,845	$82,486
14	Ohio	16,342	$80,292
15	Maryland	10,739	$81,851
16	Connecticut	10,034	$86,838
17	Minnesota	9,938	$83,414
18	Arizona	9,732	$83,345
19	Missouri	7,971	$78,011
20	Wisconsin	7,046	$82,666
21	Colorado	6,501	$85,639
22	Indiana	6,399	$81,569
23	Tennessee	5,652	$79,330
24	Oregon	4,718	$86,092
25	District of Columbia	4,134	$86,293
26	Delaware	3,521	$84,892
27	Arkansas	3,406	$78,780
28	South Carolina	2,952	$78,275
29	Iowa	2,940	$83,365
30	Utah	2,887	$79,034
31	Kansas	2,768	$84,216
32	Kentucky	2,624	$83,644
33	Rhode Island	2,457	$86,683
34	Louisiana	2,191	$88,751
35	Alabama	2,053	$80,989
36	Oklahoma	2,015	$74,551
37	Nebraska	2,014	$83,223
38	New Hampshire	1,906	$84,485
39	Nevada	1,396	$86,596
40	New Mexico	1,039	$95,587
41	Idaho	887	$79,349
42	Mississippi	839	$97,002
43	Maine	687	$104,311
44	West Virginia	617	$114,471
45	Hawaii	557	$77,837
46	North Dakota	544	$103,572
47	Vermont	366	$81,878
48	South Dakota	347	$84,426
49	Alaska	201	$84,652
50	Montana	191	$88,029
51	Wyoming	137	$102,661

Your comments are welcome.

--Dr. Flywheel