Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy
H-1B visa and green card sponsorship record
Tucson, AZ Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Files from AZ, HI, CO On record FY2020–FY2026
Yes — Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy sponsors H-1B visas.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certified 12 of its H-1B filings in FY2025 and 2 so far in FY2026 (through June 30, 2026).
At a glance
- Certified H-1B filings, FY2025
- 12 2 so far in FY2026
- Median offered salary, FY2025
- $99,450 from 12 filings
- USCIS approval rate, FY2020–FY2022
- 100.0% of 18 new petitions
- Green card filings (PERM), FY2025
- 0
- E-Verify
- On the list as of December 31, 2018
- H-1B dependent
- No
Fiscal years (FY) run October to September. Approval rates are from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Sponsorship score
9/10
Computed September 30, 2026 from its FY2020–FY2025 record.
- Recent approvals 2/3
9 new H-1B petitions approved by USCIS in FY2022
- Entry-level hiring 3/3
67% of 33 H-1B filings with a wage level were entry level (I or II), FY2023–FY2025
- Files every year 2/2
Certified H-1B filings in 3 of the 3 years FY2023–FY2025
- Approval rate 2/2
100.0% of 18 new petitions approved, FY2020–FY2022
H-1B filings (Department of Labor)
Before filing an H-1B petition, an employer must get a Labor Condition Application (LCA) certified by the Department of Labor. These are this company's LCAs, by fiscal year.
| Fiscal year | Filed | Certified H-1B | Denied | Withdrawn | Entry level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 64% of 11 |
| FY2021 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 60% of 10 |
| FY2022 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 69% of 13 |
| FY2023 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 89% of 9 |
| FY2024 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 50% of 12 |
| FY2025 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 67% of 12 |
| FY2026 so far | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% of 2 |
Entry level is the share of certified H-1B filings with a stated wage level that were level I or II.
“Filed”, “Denied” and “Withdrawn” count every LCA, including the E-3 and H-1B1 visas that use the same form; “Certified H-1B” counts H-1B only. A filing certified and later withdrawn counts in both columns.
FY2026 is in progress: data runs through June 30, 2026.
H-1B approvals (USCIS)
After DOL certifies an LCA, the employer files the H-1B petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which approves or denies it. New petitions and extensions or transfers are counted separately.
| New petitions | Extensions and transfers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Approved | Denied | Approval rate | Approved | Denied |
| FY2015 | 11 | 0 | 100.0% | 4 | 1 |
| FY2018 | 6 | 1 | 85.7% | 9 | 0 |
| FY2020 | 0 | 0 | No decisions | 0 | 0 |
| FY2021 | 9 | 0 | 100.0% | 6 | 0 |
| FY2022 | 9 | 0 | 100.0% | 9 | 0 |
| FY2023 (partial) | 4 | 0 | 100.0% | 4 | 0 |
These numbers come from USCIS, which decides H-1B petitions. They count different things from Department of Labor filings, so we never add the two together.
FY2023 is incomplete: USCIS's last data release covers only part of that year (38,315 new approvals nationwide, against 138,381 in FY2022).
USCIS hasn't published employer-level approval data after FY2023.
Salaries
Offered salary is the yearly pay an employer states on a certified, full-time H-1B filing — the bottom of the range when it gives one. Hourly, weekly and monthly pay is converted to a yearly figure; amounts under $15,000 or over $1,000,000 a year are left out. The typical range is the middle half: a quarter of filings offered less, and a quarter more.
| Fiscal year | Median | Typical range | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $80,000 | $62,000 – $147,000 | 11 |
| FY2021 | $95,000 | $90,000 – $120,819 | 10 |
| FY2022 | $99,744 | $90,000 – $113,752 | 13 |
| FY2023 | $78,989 | $61,000 – $89,603 | 9 |
| FY2024 | $100,000 | $90,000 – $134,550 | 12 |
| FY2025 | $99,450 | $79,061 – $118,403 | 12 |
| FY2026 so far | $66,188 | $66,188 – $78,000 | 2 |
Wage levels since FY2023
- Level I (entry) 18 51%
- Level II (entry) 6 17%
- Level III 6 17%
- Level IV 5 14%
Shares of the 35 certified H-1B filings since FY2023 that state a wage level.
Jobs and locations
Certified H-1B filings since FY2023, with the median offered salary for each.
Top job titles
| Job title | Filings | Median salary | Typical wage level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queue Observer | 4 | $60,858 | I (entry) |
| Assistant Scientist | 3 | $94,000 | I (entry) |
| Assistant Astronomer | 2 | $100,000 | I (entry) |
| Assistant Science Operations Specialist | 2 | $70,000 | I (entry) |
| Associate Science Operations Specialist | 2 | $78,000 | I (entry) |
| Associate Scientist | 2 | $91,249 | I (entry) |
| Adaptive Optics (AO) Associate Scientist | 1 | $99,322 | II (entry) |
| Adaptive Optics Assistant Scientist | 1 | $125,000 | III |
| Assistant Science Operation Specialist | 1 | $61,000 | I (entry) |
| Associate in Research (Science Operations Specialist) | 1 | $90,000 | I (entry) |
Top locations
| Location | Filings | Median salary |
|---|---|---|
| Hilo, HI | 11 | $79,061 |
| Tucson, AZ | 11 | $99,450 |
| Makawao, HI | 7 | $125,000 |
| Boulder, CO | 4 | $91,249 |
| Annapolis, MD | 1 | $118,403 |
| Mesa, AZ | 1 | $77,250 |
Top occupations
| Occupation | Filings | Median salary |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomers 19-2011 | 20 | $89,603 |
| General and Operations Managers 11-1021 | 3 | $122,423 |
| Physicists 19-2012 | 3 | $70,000 |
| Computer Programmers 15-1251 | 2 | $86,400 |
| Mechanical Engineers 17-2141 | 2 | $99,450 |
| Public Relations Managers 11-2032 | 1 | $208,081 |
What the filings were for
What its certified H-1B filings since FY2023 were for, as marked on each LCA. One filing can cover several workers, so these count worker positions.
| Filing type | Worker positions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| New employment New H-1B workers joining the company | 12 | 34% |
| Continuation of existing employment Extensions for current H-1B workers | 20 | 57% |
| Change of employer Transfers in: H-1B workers moving from another employer | 0 | 0% |
| Change in previous employment Changes to a current H-1B worker's job | 0 | 0% |
| Concurrent employment A second H-1B job alongside one elsewhere | 0 | 0% |
| Amended petition Amendments to a petition already filed | 3 | 9% |
It also has 2 certified E-3 filings (a visa for Australian citizens) since FY2023. They use the same form and aren't counted above.
Green card sponsorship (PERM)
We found no green card filings (PERM) for this company since FY2020.
E-Verify
On the E-Verify list
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy appears on USCIS's list of E-Verify employers dated December 31, 2018, in a state it files from.
| Name as listed | Location | Workforce size | Federal contractor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy | Hilo, HI 96720 | 100 to 499 | Yes |
| Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy | Tucson, AZ 85719 | 100 to 499 | Yes |
Why it matters: employers must be enrolled in E-Verify to employ F-1 students on the STEM OPT extension (8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)).
This list is from December 31, 2018, and it's the only one USCIS has published. It shows who was enrolled on that date: a company that enrolled later isn't on it, so not being on the list tells you nothing.
How we match companies to the list
The employer's name key appears in the USCIS E-Verify participating-employers list with a state the employer files in. That list is one snapshot, enrolled as of 2018-12-31, so false means only "not on the 2018 list" - not that the employer does not use E-Verify today, and not that it did not enrol the following week. The list carries no FEIN and no case number, so the match is by normalised name and state alone.
Other things to know
- H-1B dependent
- No
On most of its certified filings in FY2023–FY2025 that answered the question, the company said it is not H-1B dependent. A dependent employer has a large share of H-1B workers on staff and makes extra promises about recruiting and not displacing U.S. workers.
How we work this out
The employer answered Yes to H1B_DEPENDENT on at least half of the certified LCAs where it answered the question, in FY2023-FY2025. false means it answered and Yes was under half; NULL means no certified case answered the question (E-3 and H-1B1 filings answer N/A). The floor is there because a single Yes among thousands of No answers is a tick in the wrong box: it would badge 979 employers that said Yes once, one of them on 1 filing of 2,760; the 473 that answered only once or twice still are. A dependent employer is not a worse employer: the answer is a statutory test on the share of H-1B workers on staff, not a finding.
- Willful violator
- No
The company's answers on its filings in FY2020–FY2025 don't show a repeated yes. Employers state on each filing whether DOL has found them to be a willful violator in the five years before; this is the company's own answer, not a DOL record.
How we work this out
The employer answered Yes to WILLFUL_VIOLATOR on at least two LCAs in FY2020-FY2025, certified or not, in at least two fiscal years, and in at least one of those years Yes was half or more of what it answered. The floor is there because a single Yes among thousands of No answers is a tick in the wrong box: 505 employers answer Yes exactly once and never twice, and the two employers with the most Yes answers say it on one filing in two thousand. false means the employer answered and did not meet that bar; NULL means it never answered. THIS IS THE FILER'S OWN ATTESTATION ON THE LCA, NOT A DOL FINDING. The authoritative source is the DOL published debarment list, which this project does not yet mirror - it is a follow-up catalog entry - so nothing here has been checked against it.
- Cap-exempt
- No sign
Nothing in its name or industry code suggests a college or university. That doesn't make it subject to the cap: nonprofit research organizations and affiliated hospitals can be exempt too, and we can't detect them.
How we work this out
INFERRED, not a determination. true when an FY2023+ LCA carries a NAICS code beginning 6112 or 6113 (junior colleges, colleges and universities) or a raw spelling of the employer's name contains the word UNIVERSITY or COLLEGE. Never false: the column is NULL when neither signal is present, because the absence of a signal is not evidence that an employer is cap-subject. Non-profit research organisations and affiliated hospitals are cap-exempt and both tests miss them. Only USCIS decides cap exemption, petition by petition.
Company details
- Name on filings
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy
- Other names on filings
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.; The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy; AURA-GEMINI OBSERVATORY; Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc
- Address on filings
- Tucson, AZ 85719
- Industry
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (NAICS 541715)
- Employer ID (FEIN)
- 86-0138043
- On record
- FY2020–FY2026
- Latest decision on its filings
- March 9, 2026
Related companies
1 other company shares an Employer ID (FEIN) with Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. They file separately, and nothing on this page counts their filings.
Sources
- H-1B and green card filings: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification disclosure data, FY2020 through June 30, 2026.
- H-1B approvals: USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, complete through FY2022; FY2023 is partial.
- E-Verify: USCIS's list of E-Verify employers as of December 31, 2018.
- Sponsorship score: computed September 30, 2026 with version 1 of the rules on How Visa Grep works.
- USCIS approvals are matched to this company by a close spelling (2 USCIS names). The last four digits of the Employer ID agree.
Record references
Each number on this page is read from one of these rows in the Visa Grep database.
- employers 19451
- employer_names
- employer_feins
- hub_employers 19451
- employer_scores 19451
- rubric 1/*
- employer_years 19451/2020..2025
- employer_years 19451/2015..2026
- employer_feins 19451
- employer_salaries 19451
- employer_titles 19451
- employer_worksites 19451
- employer_occupations 19451
- employer_mix 19451
- employer_everify 19451
- employer_details 19451
- employer_names 19451