H-1B Visa Requirements, Cap, and Filing Process

H-1B visa requirements come down to four things: a job that qualifies as a specialty occupation, a worker with the right education or equivalent experience, a U.S. employer willing to sponsor and pay the prevailing wage, and, in most cases, selection through the annual lottery. Congress caps most new approvals at 65,000 per fiscal year, with another 20,000 reserved for workers holding a U.S. master’s degree or higher.¹ Demand routinely exceeds supply, and the 2026 filing cycle brought two major changes: a weighted selection favoring higher-wage offers, and a $100,000 fee tied to a Presidential Proclamation.

Who Qualifies: The Specialty Occupation and Degree Test

The job itself has to require specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree in a directly related field. USCIS looks at whether the degree requirement is standard for that occupation, whether the duties are complex enough to demand that education, and whether other employers in the same industry require the same credential.² Engineering, computer science, medicine, architecture, and accounting typically clear this bar. A role that can be filled with a general business degree and no particular specialization will struggle to.

The worker doesn’t need a U.S. degree. A foreign degree evaluated as equivalent by a credentialing agency satisfies the education requirement. If the worker lacks a full degree, USCIS applies a three-for-one rule: every three years of progressively responsible work experience in the field counts as one year of college. The experience has to build over time and reach professional-level work. Ten years of entry-level tasks won’t substitute for a missing degree.

What the Employer Must Commit To

Before anything else is filed with USCIS, the employer has to commit to paying at least the prevailing wage for that occupation in the geographic area where the work will happen. The Department of Labor sets prevailing wage rates based on occupation, skill level, and location. The employer must pay either the prevailing wage or the actual wage it already pays similar workers, whichever is higher.³

This is not a paperwork formality. The employer attests to the wage on a Labor Condition Application, and the Department of Labor can investigate complaints. Underpaying an H-1B worker exposes the employer to back wages and civil penalties.

The Annual Cap and the Weighted Lottery

The 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000 advanced-degree exemption create a hard ceiling each fiscal year.¹ Of that 65,000, up to 6,800 are reserved for nationals of Chile and Singapore under free trade agreements, with unused slots rolling to the general pool the next year. When registrations exceed available slots, USCIS runs a lottery to decide which petitions can be filed.

How the Weighted Selection Works

Starting with the FY 2027 cap season (registration in March 2026), USCIS replaced the purely random lottery with a weighted process. Each registration must specify the highest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics wage level the offered salary meets or exceeds, and USCIS weights its random selection accordingly.⁴ An employer offering a Level 4 wage has a meaningfully better shot at selection than one offering a Level 1 wage for the same occupation.

Employers register electronically during a designated window. For FY 2027, that window opened on March 4, 2026, and each registration costs $215 per beneficiary.⁵ The selection uses a beneficiary-centric approach: each individual worker can only be selected once, no matter how many employers register on their behalf.

Cap-Exempt Employers

Not every employer has to go through the lottery. Some can file year-round without being subject to the numerical cap:

Public or nonprofit institutions of higher education that grant bachelor’s or associate’s degrees.
Nonprofit entities that are operated by, share a board with, or have a formal affiliation agreement with a qualifying institution of higher education.
Nonprofit or government research organizations whose primary mission involves basic or applied research.

A for-profit company can also be cap-exempt if the H-1B worker will be stationed at one of these qualifying institutions and the work directly advances that institution’s mission. Moving later from a cap-exempt employer to a cap-subject one means the new petition becomes subject to the cap and lottery.

What It Costs to File in 2026

Filing costs have climbed and depend on employer size and type. The current fee schedule, effective as of the USCIS G-1055 edition dated March 23, 2026, works out as follows:⁶

Base filing fee (Form I-129): $780 on paper or $730 online for most employers. Small employers (25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees) and nonprofits pay $460 either way.
ACWIA training fee: $1,500 for employers with more than 25 full-time equivalent employees, $750 for those with 25 or fewer. Universities, nonprofit research organizations, primary and secondary schools, and certain affiliated nonprofits are exempt.⁷
Fraud Prevention and Detection fee: $500 for initial petitions and for petitions moving a worker from another employer.
Asylum Program Fee: $600 for most for-profit employers, $300 for small employers, and $0 for nonprofits.
Public Law 114-113 fee: $4,000 if the employer has 50 or more U.S. employees and more than half are in H-1B or L-1 status.
Presidential Proclamation fee: $100,000, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security grants an exception. This fee must be paid through pay.gov before the petition is filed.

The ACWIA and Fraud Prevention fees don’t apply to every subsequent extension with the same employer, which trims the cost of routine renewals.⁷ Employers who want a faster decision can request premium processing on Form I-907. As of March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for an H-1B petition is $2,965.⁸

How the Filing Process Works

The employer’s first step is filing a Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor on Form ETA-9035.⁹ The employer attests to the offered wage, the job location, and the working conditions. A complete and accurate LCA is typically certified within seven working days. The LCA must be certified before the H-1B petition can be filed.

With a certified LCA, the employer files Form I-129, the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.¹⁰ The petition covers the employer’s business, the job duties, the offered salary, and the worker’s qualifications. Supporting documents usually include degree certificates, transcripts, and a credential evaluation if the degree was earned outside the United States. Once USCIS accepts the petition, it issues a Form I-797C receipt notice with a tracking number the employer can use to check case status online.¹¹

How Long H-1B Status Lasts

An H-1B worker can be admitted for an initial period of up to three years. The total time allowed in H-1B status maxes out at six years.¹² After six years, the worker generally has to leave the United States for at least a year before qualifying for a new six-year period. Time spent physically outside the country doesn’t count against that clock, and workers can petition to recapture those days with passport stamps or travel records as evidence.¹³

Extensions Beyond Six Years Under AC21

The American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act created two ways to stay past six years while pursuing a green card:¹⁴

One-year extensions if a labor certification or I-140 petition was filed at least 365 days before the six-year limit and is still pending or has been approved.¹⁵
Three-year extensions if the worker has an approved I-140 but can’t file for a green card because the priority date isn’t current, typically due to per-country backlogs.

These provisions are the lifeline for workers from countries like India and China, where green card backlogs stretch for decades.

Changing Employers and Losing a Job

H-1B workers aren’t locked to one employer. A worker in valid H-1B status can start a new job as soon as a new employer files a nonfrivolous H-1B petition on their behalf, without waiting for approval.¹² To use portability, the worker must have been lawfully admitted and must not have worked without authorization since their last admission. If USCIS ultimately denies the new petition, the work authorization ends at that point. Portability also protects a worker’s place in the green card queue if they move to a job in the same or a similar occupational classification.

Losing an H-1B job doesn’t mean immediate departure, but the window is narrow. Federal regulations provide a grace period of up to 60 consecutive days, or the end of the authorized validity period, whichever is shorter.¹⁶ During those 60 days, the worker can look for a new sponsoring employer, apply to change to a different status, or prepare to leave. The worker cannot legally work during the grace period unless a new employer files a petition and portability kicks in. The 60 days cannot be extended or renewed, and USCIS retains discretion to shorten or eliminate it.

H-4 Spouses and Children

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of an H-1B worker can enter the United States on H-4 dependent visas. H-4 status lets dependents live in the country and attend school; it does not automatically include the right to work.

Certain H-4 spouses can apply for an Employment Authorization Document by filing Form I-765. Eligibility requires that the H-1B worker either has an approved I-140 or has been granted H-1B status beyond the six-year limit under AC21.¹³ If neither condition is met, the H-4 spouse cannot obtain work authorization.

One change matters for planning: automatic EAD extensions were eliminated for H-4 renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025. Work authorization now expires on the date printed on the EAD card, with no automatic bridge while a renewal is pending. Filing the H-4 extension (Form I-539), the EAD application (Form I-765), and the H-1B extension (Form I-129) together can help with concurrent processing, but there is no premium processing option for the H-4 EAD. Renewal applications can be filed up to 180 days before the current EAD expires, and given processing times, filing early is the only reliable way to avoid a gap.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Cap Season
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Specialty Occupations
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Prevailing Wage Information and Resources
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FY 2027 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 4
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
9
U.S. Department of Labor. Form ETA-9035 – Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
13
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.2 – Special Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
14
Government Publishing Office. Public Law 106-313 – American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AC21 Guidance Memo
16
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.1 – Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status