The $300k+ H1B visa jobs that banks don't hire US staff for
The H1B visa program for skilled workers is undergoing some major changes this year, but it's not just junior staff that might be affected. In banking, banks some of these people on H1Bs happen to be very well paid.
We've examined H1B visa salary submissions in 2025 for a variety of banks, focusing on those that describe the specific job titles of the employee (some, like Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, only disclose seniority). We've then counted which roles are most common for H1B holders earning salaries above $300k. Intriguingly, despite the program's reputation as a source for tech talent, the highest paid visa holders on the program are, more often than not, client facing and front office roles.
JPMorgan, the biggest employer of H1B visa holders in banking, has its highest paid H1Bs spread out across multiple divisions. In the front office, most of JPMorgan's high-paid H1Bs are in trading but the highest paid is a managing director (MD) and Americas head of its equity-linked team within ECM. JPMorgan is also the outlier in that it employs many high paid technologists on H1Bs.
The largest employer of H1B investment bankers is UBS, but they're a group of highly paid executive directors (EDs), rather than MDs. One ED in the Swiss bank's media and telecom team, for example, earns a salary of $325k. The highest paid H1B at UBS this year, though, is an MD working in its family office coverage group, earning a salary of $500k.
Citi, meanwhile, employs a few very well paid people working in product management. Its highest paid H1B holder in 2025 is a New York-based product manager earning a salary of $612k.
Why are banks employing H1B visa holders in the front office?
For as well paid as some of these H1Bs are, they are a drop in the ocean when it comes to all the high earners working at these banks in the US. The head of a global recruitment firm, speaking anonymously, told us that "usually you won’t find senior people in markets with H1Bs. Most of the senior people get green cards by the time they make MD." If a trader or salesperson is on an H1B, "they are not considered senior."
Banks often resort to other means if they want a specific person to move locations. "They might have an L1 visa, which is an internal transfer," the recruiter told us, "but that takes almost 2 years to get as well." This requires staff to work in a foreign office for a period of time before moving to the US, and is also used on the buy-side. Another visa used by banks and trading firms is the O-1a, given to recipients of international awards or people who satisfy multiple criteria signalling great importance.
Banks' usage of H1Bs is similar to that of other major multinationals like consultancies. Because of their massive global headcounts and foreign offices, they've been able to apply for places in the H1B lottery en masse. Of course... that might soon change.
How will the $100k fee for H1B visa applications affect banking?
There's been a lot of confusion and chaos around the $100k fee for H1B visa applications instituted by Trump. Bank staff on H1Bs had to frantically return to the country before the deadline, and multiple offers have been put on hold until the regulation is clarified. The recruitment firm head said this will affect junior staff on H1Bs much more than the high paid roles; "For $100k per visa, the hire must be very valuable to the firm at junior levels."
He says the $100k fee will be good news for juniors already studying in the US; students transferring from an alternate visa like an F1 student visa onto an H1B are not subject to the $100k fee.
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