H-1B Visa: Requirements, the Cap and How Selection Works

An H-1B lets a U.S. employer hire a foreign worker for a job that requires at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field. Those are the core H-1B visa requirements, but most new H-1Bs are capped at 85,000 a year, so the employer first has to register the worker and be selected before it can file a petition.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by state and situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your case, talk to a licensed attorney.

Key takeaways

• The job must require a bachelor's or higher degree in a field directly related to the duties, and the worker needs that degree, an equivalent, a full state license, or matching experience.
• The employer needs a certified Labor Condition Application and must pay the higher of its actual wage or the local prevailing wage.
• Since the FY 2027 season, selection is weighted by wage level: a level IV worker gets four entries in the pool, a level I worker one.
• H-1B status lasts six years at most, unless certain green card steps are pending or approved.
• Government fees for a first cap-subject petition come to $3,595 ($3,545 online) for a company with more than 25 employees and $2,225 for a smaller one.

H-1B visa requirements, item by item

All four have to be met, and as federal rules they're the same in every state.

1. The job is a specialty occupation. It has to apply highly specialized knowledge and need at least a bachelor's degree in the specific specialty, or its equivalent, to enter the field (INA 214(i)(1)). Under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(ii), a job that any general degree would fill doesn't qualify, though a job may accept several degree fields if each has a logical connection to the duties. The position must also pass one of four tests in 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), such as the employer normally requiring the degree, and "normally" doesn't mean always.
2. The worker has a qualifying credential: a U.S. bachelor's or higher in the specialty, a foreign equivalent, an unrestricted state license, or education, training and progressively responsible experience equal to the degree plus recognized expertise (8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C)). On the experience route, three years of specialized training or work stand in for each missing year of college (214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D)(5)). If the state licenses the occupation, the worker generally needs the license before approval.
3. A U.S. employer files for a real job. It needs a bona fide offer of work in the U.S. (telework counts), a legal presence here where it can be served with court papers, and an IRS tax ID (8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(ii)). Workers can't file for themselves. If the worker will be staffed into a client's organization, the client's degree requirements are the ones that count (214.2(h)(4)(i)(B)(3)).
4. The Labor Department has certified a Labor Condition Application (LCA). The employer files Form ETA-9035E no more than six months before the start date, and the department usually decides within seven working days (20 CFR 655.730(b)). The employer attests that it will pay at least the higher of its actual wage for similar workers or the area's prevailing wage for the occupation, that conditions for similar workers won't suffer, that there's no strike or lockout, and that it notified the union or posted notice at each worksite for 10 days or sent it electronically (INA 212(n)(1); 20 CFR 655.731 and 655.734). Pay continues if the employer benches the worker for lack of work (655.731(c)(7)). A March 2026 Labor Department proposal to recalculate the four prevailing-wage levels isn't final.

## How does the H-1B lottery work now?

USCIS calls it a selection process, and under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii) it has been weighted by wage since the FY 2027 season.

1. USCIS announces the registration window at least 30 days ahead, and it stays open at least 14 days. For FY 2027 it ran from noon Eastern on March 4 to 5 p.m. on March 19, 2026. Each year's dates go up on USCIS's H-1B Electronic Registration Process page.
2. The employer registers each worker online for a nonrefundable $215, with passport details, the job's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code and location, and the highest of the four OEWS wage levels the offered pay meets. Each employer gets one registration per worker per year; a duplicate can void them all.
3. If registrations exceed the need, each worker takes the lowest wage level on any registration filed for them and goes into the pool four times at level IV, three at level III, twice at level II or once at level I. Each person still counts only once toward the numbers.
4. A weighted draw from everyone fills the 65,000 regular cap. A second weighted draw among the remaining U.S. master's (or higher) holders fills the 20,000 advanced-degree slots.
5. Selected employers get a notice in their USCIS online accounts (USCIS aimed for March 31 in FY 2027). Registrations not picked stay in reserve and can be selected later that year if USCIS needs more petitions.
6. The employer files Form I-129 in the window on the notice, which is at least 90 days long and opened April 1 for FY 2027. The start date must be October 1 or later and no more than six months out, and the petition must match the registration, including the SOC code and pay at or above the prevailing wage for the registered level.

The weighted rule (90 FR 60864) took effect February 27, 2026 for registrations submitted from that date. FY 2027, for jobs starting October 1, 2026, was its first season, and it governs FY 2028 unless DHS changes it. Through FY 2026, every registered worker had one entry. In the first weighted season, offers at the two highest wage levels drew about 46.3 percent of selections and the lowest level 17.8 percent, according to Proclamation 11069. Both FY 2027 caps have since been reached.

Cap-subject or cap-exempt?

The cap applies to people getting H-1B status for the first time, with the exceptions in INA 214(g) and the regulation.

Situation	Counts against the cap?	Rule
First H-1B with a private company	Yes, the 65,000 regular cap	INA 214(g)(1)(A)
First H-1B, with a master's or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education	Yes, with 20,000 extra slots	INA 214(g)(5)(C)
Public or nonprofit university (institution of higher education, 20 U.S.C. 1001(a))	No	INA 214(g)(5)(A)
Nonprofit tied to a university, such as through shared control or a written affiliation agreement	No	INA 214(g)(5)(A); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(F)(2)
Nonprofit research organization or government research organization	No	INA 214(g)(5)(B)
Worker on another company's payroll who spends at least half their time at a qualifying institution on work that furthers its mission	No	8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(F)(4)
Extension or job change for someone counted within the past six years	No	INA 214(g)(7)
Chile or Singapore national (H-1B1)	Separate limits of 1,400 and 5,400, taken out of the 65,000	INA 214(g)(8)

A worker who has only held cap-exempt jobs and was never counted becomes cap-subject when a regular employer files after the exempt job ends (8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(F)(5)).

Six years, changing jobs and the 60-day grace period

Each approval lasts up to three years and can't outrun its LCA, and extensions bring the total to six years (INA 214(g)(4); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(9)(iii)(A)(1) and (h)(15)(ii)(B)(1)). Trips abroad longer than 24 hours don't count and can be recaptured (214.2(h)(13)(iii)(C)). After six years, a new H or L stay generally requires a year living abroad.

Two parts of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act (AC21) allow more time while a green card case moves; our green card vs. visa guide covers how the two statuses differ. Under section 106(a), USCIS extends status a year at a time once a PERM labor certification or an I-140 has been on file for 365 days (8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D)). You lose that if you don't apply for the green card within a year of a visa number becoming available, unless USCIS excuses the delay. Under section 104(c), an approved EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 I-140 held up only by the per-country limit supports extensions of up to three years (214.2(h)(13)(iii)(E)).

Say your H-1B time started October 1, 2026, with no trips abroad. Your six years end September 30, 2032, so a seventh-year extension under section 106(a) needs the labor certification or I-140 filed by October 2, 2031, which is 365 days before October 1, 2032 (February 29, 2032 falls in between). Recaptured days push both dates later.

To change employers, the new one files a nonfrivolous petition before your authorized stay ends. You can start when it's filed or on the requested start date, whichever is later, if you were lawfully admitted and haven't worked without authorization since your last admission (INA 214(n); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(H)). That permission ends if the petition is denied.

If a job ends early, whether you were laid off, fired or quit, you keep status for up to 60 consecutive days or until your approval period ends, whichever is sooner, once per approval period (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)). You can't work in that window, but you can find a new sponsor, change status or leave, and DHS can shorten the period. A September 11, 2026 DHS proposal would eliminate the grace period; comments were due November 10, 2026, and the 60 days apply until a final rule takes effect. An employer that dismisses you before your stay ends owes the reasonable cost of your trip home (214.2(h)(4)(iii)(E)).

## H-1B fees by employer size

These are the government fees for a first H-1B petition as of November 2026. Employee counts are full-time equivalents in the U.S., including affiliates and subsidiaries (8 CFR 106.1(f)(1)).

Fee	26 or more employees	25 or fewer employees	Public or nonprofit university (cap-exempt)	Rule
Registration, per worker (cap-subject cases only)	$215	$215	Not needed	8 CFR 106.2(c)(11)
Form I-129, H-1B	$780 on paper, $730 online	$460	$460	8 CFR 106.2(a)(3)(i); 106.1(g)
ACWIA fee (first petition, first extension, change of employer)	$1,500	$750	Exempt	INA 214(c)(9); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(19)
Fraud prevention and detection fee (first petition, change of employer)	$500	$500	$500	INA 214(c)(12); 8 CFR 106.2(c)(5)
Asylum Program Fee	$600	$300	$0	8 CFR 106.2(c)(13)
Pub. L. 114-113 "50/50" fee (50 or more U.S. employees, over half in H-1B or L-1 status; all petitions except amendments without an extension; through Sept. 30, 2027)	$4,000 if the test is met	Can't apply below 50 employees	$4,000 if the test is met	8 CFR 106.2(c)(8)
$100,000 proclamation payment (certain new petitions for workers abroad)	Not being collected; vacated by courts in Massachusetts (in effect since July 24, 2026) and California (Sept. 30, 2026); both rulings are on appeal	Same	Same	Proclamations 10973 and 11069; court orders
Total for a first cap-subject petition, no 50/50 fee	$3,595 on paper, $3,545 online	$2,225	$960 (no registration)

Proclamation 10973 (Sept. 19, 2025) requires a $100,000 payment for certain new H-1B petitions, and Proclamation 11069 extended it to September 21, 2027, but USCIS isn't collecting it. A federal court in Massachusetts (California v. Mullin) vacated the 2025 agency guidance in a June 8, 2026 judgment that has been in effect since July 24, and on September 30 a federal court in California (Global Nurse Force v. Trump), in a preliminary-injunction ruling, barred enforcement under either proclamation until the agencies complete notice-and-comment rulemaking. Both rulings are on appeal, and a third case upholding the payment is pending in the D.C. Circuit.

The employer must pay the ACWIA fee and can't recover any of it from the worker, directly or through pay (8 CFR 214.2(h)(19)(ii); 20 CFR 655.731(c)(10)(ii)). A second extension with the same employer carries no ACWIA fee, and an extension with the same employer carries no fraud fee. Optional premium processing on Form I-907 adds $2,965.

When an immigration lawyer should run the H-1B process

Consider having a lawyer prepare the filing when any of these apply:

• The worker's degree is in a different field from the job, or the case rests on the three-years-for-one experience rule.
• The worker will be placed at a client's site, so the client's requirements decide whether the job qualifies.
• The worker owns more than half of the petitioning company.
• The worker is outside the U.S., which raises the proclamation payment question.
• The worker is in year four or five with no PERM or I-140 on file, or a layoff has started the 60-day clock.

Bring the job description, diplomas, transcripts, past I-797 approvals and the worker's I-94 history to the first meeting. Our directory lets you compare immigration lawyers by state and city, and choosing "Work visa" in our Immigration Lawyer Match shows which kind of attorney handles H-1B petitions and what to gather.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sponsor my own H-1B through a company I own?

Yes, if the company is a real U.S. employer with a job for you. If you own more than half of it or hold most of the votes, you must do specialty-occupation work most of the time, and the rest can go to running the business. The first petition and first extension are each limited to 18 months instead of three years (8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(ii) and (h)(9)(iii)(E)). A cap-subject company still needs a selection.

Can I work two jobs at the same time on an H-1B?

Yes, if each employer files its own H-1B petition, and you can start the second job when its petition is filed or on its requested start date, whichever is later. If your first job is cap-exempt, such as at a university, a cap-subject second job doesn't put you through the lottery while you keep the exempt one; leave it without ever having been counted, and the cap applies.

If my employer was selected but never filed, can another company use the selection?

No. A selection lets only the employer that registered you file, only for you, and only in that fiscal year's filing window, and it can't be transferred (8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(D)(1)). If two employers each registered you and you were picked, each gets a notice and either can file. Otherwise a new employer has to register you in a later season.

Can my spouse and children come, and can my spouse work?

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can get H-4 status, and they don't count against the cap (INA 214(g)(2)). H-4 status alone doesn't allow work. An H-4 spouse can apply for a work permit on Form I-765 only if the H-1B worker has an approved I-140 or has been extended past six years under AC21 section 106 (8 CFR 214.2(h)(9)(iv)).