About This Project
A comprehensive data portal for analyzing guest worker visa programs and offshoring trends in the United States.
Our Mission
The Guest Worker Visa Data Portal aims to provide transparency and accessibility to public data on temporary worker programs in the United States. By making this information easily searchable and visualizable, we help:
Researchers
Access comprehensive datasets for labor market analysis and academic research
Journalists
Investigate trends and stories related to temporary worker programs
Policy Makers
Make informed decisions based on data-driven insights
Public Interest
Understand how guest worker programs operate in their communities
Data Sources
All data displayed on this portal comes from official U.S. government sources and is public record:
Primary Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) - Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC)
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - Visa approval statistics
- Department of State - Visa issuance data
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - Corporate filing data for offshoring analysis
Data Enhancement
To improve data usability and accuracy, we enhance the source data through:
- Geocoding: Employer addresses verified and geocoded using Geocodio for precise mapping
- Data Cleaning: Standardization of company names, addresses, and categorical data
- Enrichment: Adding industry classifications and employer size estimates where applicable
Technology
This portal is built using modern web technologies to provide fast, interactive data visualization:
Frontend
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript
Google Maps API, DataTables
Backend
PHP 8.1+
MySQL Database
Data Processing
Python for ETL
Geocodio API for geocoding
Hosting
Cloud infrastructure
CDN for fast delivery
Features & Capabilities
Interactive Maps
Our mapping tools use clustering algorithms to efficiently display thousands of employer locations while maintaining fast performance. Click any marker to see detailed company information.
Data Export
All tables can be exported in multiple formats (Excel, CSV, PDF) for further analysis. Exports include all available data fields including contact information.
Search & Filter
Advanced search capabilities allow filtering by city, state, employer name, job title, wage range, and more.
Real-time Updates
Data is updated regularly as new information becomes available from government sources.
⚠️ Note on Texas State Employee Ethnicity Data
For those reviewing Texas state employee data and noticing employees listed as Asian or other non-white ethnicities: this portal makes no claim that any of these individuals are H-1B visa holders.
The ethnicity data shown comes directly from Texas state payroll records. Employees of Asian or other ethnic backgrounds working in state government may be U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), or workers authorized through various pathways — including but not limited to prior visa holders who later naturalized, employment authorization documents (EAD), OPT/CPT graduates, or those born in the U.S.
This data raises legitimate public policy questions, including:
- What immigration pathways did foreign-born state employees use to obtain work authorization?
- Are hiring processes for state government positions ensuring American workers are given fair consideration?
- Could hiring managers who share an ethnic or national background with applicants create potential bias — whether conscious or unconscious — in the selection process?
Disclaimer: These are questions of public interest and transparency. This portal presents public payroll data only and does not make accusations against any individual employee or manager. Discrimination in public hiring — regardless of which group benefits — is prohibited under federal and state law.
Additional Data Portals
Beyond guest worker visa programs, we maintain specialized databases for government transparency and accountability:
Presidential Job Creation Scorecard
Track monthly job creation, unemployment changes, and native-born vs foreign-born employment statistics. Interactive charts showing employment trends from 2022 onwards with detailed monthly breakdowns.
Texas Computer Payments Database
Search and analyze payments made by Texas state agencies to computer and technology vendors. Track spending trends, identify major contracts, and explore fiscal year comparisons.
Texas State Salary Browser
Browse the entire Texas state workforce ranked by annual salary. Filter by salary range, agency, class code, ethnicity, gender, and employee type. Includes visual salary bars and rank numbers for every employee.
Texas State Agency Explorer
Browse all Texas state agencies ranked by workforce size. Drill into any agency to see every employee, their class code, salary, ethnicity, and hire date. Includes average and total payroll per agency.
Texas Salary Report by Ethnicity
Generate a formatted PDF report breaking down Texas state employee counts by ethnicity across five salary brackets — Under $50K, $50K–$99K, $100K–$149K, $150K–$199K, and $200K+.
Texas State Employee Salary Explorer
Browse and search salary data for Texas state employees. Filter by job class code, ethnicity, agency, and more. Data is grouped by classification with detailed employee records and export capabilities.
Texas Tax-Exempt Organizations
Search organizations holding sales tax, franchise tax, or hotel occupancy tax exemptions issued by the Texas Comptroller. Filter by organization name, city, county, ZIP, and exemption type. Includes full detail view and CSV export.
Privacy & Legal
Public Data
All information displayed on this portal is public record, obtained through official government sources or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. No private or confidential information is displayed.
Contact Information
Employer contact information (Point of Contact, attorney details) is included in H-1B Labor Condition Applications as filed with the Department of Labor and is part of the public record.
Data Accuracy
While we strive for accuracy, this portal presents data "as is" from government sources. We are not responsible for any errors or omissions in the source data. Users should verify critical information with original sources.
No Affiliation
This is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any U.S. government agency.
Contact Us
Have questions, suggestions, or found an error? We'd love to hear from you!
Acknowledgments
This project would not be possible without:
- The U.S. Department of Labor for providing comprehensive OFLC disclosure data
- Geocodio for accurate address geocoding services
- Google Maps Platform for mapping capabilities
- Open source libraries: DataTables, jQuery, MarkerClusterer
- The data journalism and transparency community