Business Insider analyzed over 5,800 federal H-1B and other work visa applications Meta filed in 2025, finding that most new hires earned between $150,000 and $250,000 in base salary, while top roles commanded significantly more, including $450,000 for software engineers, $400,000 for research engineers, and $650,000 for a VP of AI. About half of Meta's H-1B hires went to software engineering roles, and the figures exclude stock options, signing bonuses, and other perks that can double or triple total compensation, with some senior researcher packages reportedly exceeding $100M. H-1B filings at Meta roughly halved in Q4 2025 compared to the same period the prior year, following Trump administration changes that made the visa process more costly and subject to tighter scrutiny.
Meta paid software engineers up to $450K and a VP of AI $650K in base salary in 2025, visa data shows
Paul Drecksler is the founder and editor of Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter, covering the most important stories in e-commerce.
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