American Express

The Two-Name Game

American Express is not the first company you think of when someone says “H-1B abuse.” That's by design. They're quiet about it. Just a steady, methodical operation to move tech work to the cheapest zip code they can find while splitting filings across two legal entities.

AmEx files H-1B applications under “American Express Travel Related Services” (ranked #80) AND “American Express Company” (ranked #433). Two names. One company. Combine them and the numbers tell a very different story.

The Phoenix Play: Geographic Arbitrage on Steroids

AmEx is headquartered in New York City. Cost of living index: 187. Most of their H-1B workers? Phoenix, Arizona. Cost of living index: 97. Damn near half.

887 H-1B workers in Phoenix. 384 in New York. More than double. And they're paying nearly the same wages, about $140K in Phoenix, $145K in NYC. A $5,000 difference for a city that costs half as much to live in.

I've looked at dozens of companies. AmEx has the most aggressive geographic arbitrage I've seen. It's not even close.

The Disappearing American Workforce

Only 34% of AmEx's workforce is US-based. Out of 76,800 total employees, about 22,000-26,000 are in the US. That number has barely moved in five years. Meanwhile total headcount keeps climbing.

This isn't a company struggling to find American talent. This is a company that figured out the cheapest possible way to staff its US operations.

The Wages: Middle of the Pack

AmEx pays 14.1% above prevailing wage. Sounds decent until you realize Google pays 60%+. Apple pays 40%+. AmEx is paying the minimum needed to not look bad on paper.

With a 98%+ approval rate, USCIS isn't asking questions. No H-1B lawsuits on record. American Express has built a machine that technically follows every rule while extracting maximum value.

Bottom Line

American Express optimized the H-1B program without ever breaking a rule. Two filing entities to split the numbers. Nearly all growth pushed offshore. US workers placed in Phoenix instead of NYC to exploit cost of living differentials. Wages pegged just above prevailing wage. Zero lawsuits.

If you're a software engineer in Phoenix wondering why salaries feel depressed, this is part of your answer. AmEx alone has nearly 900 H-1B workers in your city, paid at rates calibrated to the local prevailing wage, not the NYC salaries you'd expect from a Fortune 100 financial services company.

The system isn't broken. It's working exactly as designed. Just not for you.