H-1B Visa: Requirements, Weighted Lottery, and Extensions

To qualify for an H-1B visa, you need a U.S. employer willing to sponsor you for a “specialty occupation,” a job that requires at least a bachelor’s degree in a field directly related to the work, and you must be selected in the annual lottery unless your employer is cap-exempt. The core H-1B visa requirements sit in three places: the job has to be specialized enough, you have to have the education (or equivalent experience) to fill it, and the employer has to make binding wage and working-condition commitments to the Department of Labor. Everything else is procedure built on top of those three pillars.

What Counts as a Specialty Occupation

The entire program rests on this threshold question. Federal regulations define a specialty occupation as a role requiring the practical application of highly specialized knowledge in a professional field, with at least a bachelor’s degree in a directly related specialty as the minimum to get hired.¹ A general degree without further specialization is not enough, and the degree field must logically connect to the job duties.

A software engineering position requiring a computer science degree qualifies. A general office manager role that anyone with a business degree could fill likely does not. The position can accept a range of qualifying degree fields, but each one must be directly related to the work. USCIS adjudicators look hard at this connection, and a mismatch between the degree requirement and the actual day-to-day duties is one of the most common reasons petitions get denied or hit with a request for additional evidence.

Who Qualifies as the Worker

The worker (the “beneficiary” in immigration paperwork) must hold a U.S. bachelor’s degree or a foreign equivalent in a field directly related to the specialty occupation.² Candidates with foreign degrees typically need a professional credential evaluation translating the degree into its U.S. equivalent. These evaluations generally cost between $75 and $275.

Workers without a formal four-year degree can still qualify by combining education and work experience. USCIS allows three years of specialized, progressive work experience to substitute for one year of college-level education. A professional with 12 years of relevant experience and no degree could potentially meet the bachelor’s threshold that way. The experience has to be genuinely specialized and progressive in responsibility; simply working in a related field for the required number of years is not automatically sufficient.

The Employer’s Role

Only a U.S. employer can sponsor an H-1B worker. You cannot petition for yourself. The sponsoring employer must show a real employment relationship, meaning it has the authority to hire, pay, supervise, and fire the worker.³ USCIS evaluates whether the petitioner has the “right to control” when, where, and how the beneficiary performs the job.

This gets complicated with staffing companies and consulting firms that place workers at third-party client sites. In those arrangements, the petitioning employer still needs to show it keeps meaningful control over the worker’s employment rather than acting as a pass-through. Petitions from staffing agencies face heavier scrutiny, and USCIS often demands detailed documentation of the work arrangement, including contracts with the end client.

The Annual Cap and the Weighted Lottery

Congress set the annual H-1B cap at 65,000 visas, plus an additional 20,000 for workers who hold a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution.⁴ That 85,000 total is routinely oversubscribed, meaning most registrations do not get selected.

The selection process starts with electronic registration. During the annual registration window, employers submit basic information about themselves and each prospective worker through the USCIS online account system and pay a $215 registration fee per beneficiary.⁵

How the Weighted Selection Works

Starting with fiscal year 2027, USCIS replaced the random lottery with a weighted selection process that gives better odds to higher-paid workers. Each registration is assigned a wage level (I through IV) based on how the offered salary compares to prevailing wages for the occupation and work location. Registrations at wage level IV enter the selection pool four times, level III enters three times, level II enters twice, and level I enters once.⁴ Each worker is still counted only once toward the cap regardless of how many times they appear in the pool.

This is a big shift. Under the old system, an entry-level position and a senior role had the same chance. Now, a level IV position has roughly four times the selection probability of a level I position, and employers offering wages at the lower end of the prevailing scale face meaningfully worse odds.

Selected registrants receive a notification and have a 90-day window to file the complete H-1B petition.⁶ Employers who are not selected remain registered through the end of the fiscal year in case additional selections are needed.

Cap-Exempt Employers

Not every H-1B petition counts against the 85,000 cap. These employers are exempt from the numerical limit:⁷

Accredited U.S. colleges and universities
Nonprofit entities affiliated with a college or university, such as a teaching hospital
Nonprofit research organizations primarily engaged in research
Federal, state, or local government research organizations

Cap-exempt employers can file H-1B petitions at any time during the year without going through the electronic registration lottery.⁴ That is a significant advantage for workers who miss the cap lottery or learn about a position after the registration window closes. A worker currently counted against the cap who transfers to a cap-exempt employer does not free up a cap number for someone else, but they also do not need a new cap slot.

The Labor Condition Application

Before filing the actual H-1B petition, the employer must get a certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor by submitting Form ETA-9035.⁸ This form requires the employer to make several binding commitments about wage levels and working conditions.

The most important attestation is the wage requirement. The employer must pay the H-1B worker at least the higher of two amounts: the prevailing wage for the occupation in the geographic area, or the actual wage paid to other employees in similar roles with similar experience.⁹ The prevailing wage is determined by the Department of Labor based on occupation, location, and skill level, and employers can request a formal determination by submitting Form ETA-9141.¹⁰

The employer must also keep a public access file containing the certified LCA, documentation of the wage rate, the prevailing wage source, proof that the employer posted notice of the filing, and a summary of benefits available to workers in the same job classification. This file has to be created within one business day of filing the LCA and kept for at least one year after the last day an H-1B worker is employed under it. Anyone can request to inspect it during normal business hours.

What Sponsorship Costs

The employer pays all government fees, and shifting any of these costs to the worker is prohibited. A typical cap-subject initial filing involves:

Base filing fee for Form I-129: $780 for most employers, or $460 for small employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees
ACWIA training fee: $1,500 for employers with more than 25 full-time employees, or $750 for smaller employers
Fraud prevention and detection fee: $500, required for all initial petitions and employer-change petitions
Asylum Program fee: $600, or $300 for small employers with 25 or fewer employees; nonprofits are exempt¹¹
Public Law 114-113 fee: an additional $4,000 for employers with 50 or more U.S. employees where more than half hold H-1B or L-1 status, applied only to initial petitions and employer changes¹²

For a large employer filing an initial petition, government fees alone can reach roughly $3,380 before legal costs. Add the $215 registration fee and attorney fees (typically $1,500 to $5,000 depending on case complexity), and the full cost of bringing on an H-1B worker is substantial. Employers who need a faster decision can file Form I-907 for premium processing, which guarantees USCIS will take action within 15 business days; as of March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for H-1B petitions is $2,965.¹³

How Long H-1B Status Lasts

H-1B status is initially granted for up to three years. The employer can file for an extension of up to three additional years, bringing the maximum to six years total.¹⁴

Only time physically spent in the United States counts against the six-year clock. Time spent abroad for more than 24 hours can be “recaptured” and added back to the available period. To claim recaptured time, the sponsoring employer submits documentation such as passport stamps, I-94 travel records, and boarding passes showing dates outside the country.

Extensions Beyond Six Years

Workers pursuing permanent residency through the employment-based green card process can often stay past the six-year limit under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act. Two pathways exist:

One-year extensions are available if a labor certification application or Form I-140 immigrant petition has been pending for at least 365 days before the six-year limit
Three-year extensions are available if the worker has an approved I-140 but cannot file for permanent residency because their priority date is not current due to per-country visa backlogs

These extensions matter most for workers from countries like India and China, where employment-based green card backlogs stretch for years or decades. Without them, workers deep into the green card process would be forced to leave and abandon their applications.

Changing Employers and Losing a Job

H-1B status is tied to a specific employer, but workers are not locked in. Under the portability provision, an H-1B worker can begin working for a new employer as soon as the new employer files a nonfrivolous H-1B petition on the worker’s behalf, without waiting for that petition to be approved.¹⁵ The new employer must also submit a valid, unexpired LCA covering the work. The worker has to be in valid H-1B status when the new petition is filed. Someone whose status has lapsed cannot use portability. The transfer petition does not count against the annual cap because the worker has already been counted.

Losing your job on H-1B status triggers an immediate clock. Federal regulations provide a grace period of up to 60 consecutive days after employment ends, or until the petition’s expiration date, whichever comes first.¹⁶ During this window, the worker is not treated as having violated status, but they cannot work. The grace period is available once per authorized validity period and is discretionary, so USCIS can shorten or eliminate it.

Within those 60 days, the worker can find a new employer willing to file an H-1B transfer petition, apply to change to a different visa status (such as B-2 visitor or dependent status through a spouse), or depart the United States. The math is tighter than it looks, because the new employer needs time to prepare and file the petition before the grace period expires. If the employer fires the worker before the end of the authorized period, the employer is legally required to pay the reasonable costs of the worker’s return transportation to their home country, regardless of whether the dismissal was for cause.⁷ If the worker quits voluntarily, the employer does not owe transportation costs.

H-4 Dependent Family Members

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of H-1B workers can enter the United States in H-4 dependent status. H-4 status lets the family member live in the U.S. and attend school, but does not automatically include work authorization.

Certain H-4 spouses can apply for an Employment Authorization Document to work. Eligibility requires that the H-1B principal spouse meets one of two conditions:¹⁷

The H-1B worker has an approved immigrant petition (Form I-140)
The H-1B worker has been granted status beyond the six-year limit under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act

One important change for 2026: H-4 EAD holders are no longer eligible for the 540-day automatic extension of work authorization that previously applied while a renewal was pending. Work authorization now ends on the expiration date printed on the EAD card, so filing renewals well in advance is critical to avoid gaps in employment. There is no premium processing available for the H-4 EAD application (Form I-765), which means processing delays can create real problems for working spouses who depend on uninterrupted authorization.

1
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.2 – Special Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Specialty Occupations
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers Memoranda on Establishing the Employer-Employee Relationship in H-1B Petitions
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Cap Season
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Frequently Asked Questions
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers Form ETA-9035
9
U.S. Department of Labor. H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Specialty (Professional) Workers
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Prevailing Wage Information and Resources
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Increase for Certain H-1B and L-1 Petitions (Public Law 114-113)
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status
15
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 62W – What Is Portability and to Whom Does It Apply
16
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.1 – Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses