How H-1B Processing Works: Cap, Fees, and Timelines

H-1B processing is the multi-step sequence an employer follows to hire a foreign worker in a specialty occupation: register the candidate in the spring lottery, obtain a certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor, file Form I-129 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and then either have the worker attend a consular interview abroad or change status from inside the country. For a new cap-subject petition, the government fees now exceed $100,000, driven largely by a September 2025 presidential proclamation, and the timeline from registration to a start date typically runs six to nine months.

The Annual Cap and Who Has to Enter the Lottery

Congress caps new H-1B workers at 65,000 per fiscal year, plus 20,000 additional slots reserved for beneficiaries with a U.S. master’s degree or higher.¹ Up to 6,800 of the regular slots go to nationals of Chile and Singapore under free trade agreements.

Some employers skip the cap entirely. Institutions of higher education, their affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations are cap-exempt and can file at any time of year.² Everyone else has to go through the annual lottery, and cap-subject employment generally begins October 1, the start of the federal fiscal year.

Step 1: Electronic Registration

The process starts in early spring. For fiscal year 2027 (employment starting October 1, 2026), the registration window opened at noon Eastern on March 4 and closed at noon Eastern on March 19, 2026, with a fee of $215 per registration.³

Employers submit basic information through a USCIS online account: the company’s legal name and Employer Identification Number, and the beneficiary’s legal name, date of birth, country of citizenship, and passport details.⁴ The registration also flags whether the beneficiary qualifies for the advanced degree exemption. Once the window closes, none of this can be changed.

Selection is beneficiary-centric. The lottery draws unique individuals, not registrations, so if three employers register the same person, that person gets one chance and every registering employer receives a selection notice if picked.⁵ Only selected employers can move on to the petition stage.

Step 2: The Labor Condition Application

Before filing the petition itself, the employer files Form ETA-9035E with the Department of Labor through the FLAG system to obtain a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA).⁶ By signing it, the employer promises to pay at least the prevailing wage for the occupation in the worksite’s geographic area, confirms working conditions won’t harm similarly employed U.S. workers, and attests there’s no strike or lockout.

Prevailing wage is set by occupation and location using DOL data, and it falls into one of four levels. Level 1 is entry work; Level 4 is fully competent senior work. If the wage level doesn’t fit the duties the petition describes, USCIS will notice, and that mismatch is a common reason cases run into trouble on review.

Notice also has to go out. Where there’s no collective bargaining representative, the employer posts the LCA notice at two visible workplace locations for at least 10 days, or distributes it electronically to everyone in the same occupational classification, either on or within 30 days before filing.⁷ If the worker later moves to a worksite not covered by the original LCA, a new notice has to be posted at that location on or before the worker’s first day there.

Step 3: Preparing and Filing Form I-129

With the LCA certified, the employer prepares Form I-129, the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. The evidence has to prove two things: the job is a specialty occupation, and the beneficiary is qualified for it.

For the specialty occupation piece, the employer submits a detailed job description and explains why the role requires at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific field. A generic title won’t carry the argument; the duties themselves need to show that only degree-level specialized knowledge in a directly related discipline can perform them.²

For the beneficiary’s qualifications, the package includes diplomas, transcripts, and, for foreign degrees, a credential evaluation from an independent evaluator confirming U.S.-equivalence.⁸ Add an offer letter with title, salary, and employment dates, plus a support letter from the company explaining why it needs this worker and confirming its ability to pay.

What a New H-1B Petition Costs Now

Fees changed dramatically in September 2025. For a new cap-subject petition, an employer pays:

I-129 base filing fee of $780, with a reduced amount for employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.⁹
ACWIA training fee of $750 (25 or fewer FTEs) or $1,500 (larger employers).
Fraud Prevention and Detection fee of $500.
Asylum Program Fee of $600 for employers with more than 25 FTEs, $300 for smaller employers, and $0 for nonprofits.¹⁰
Public Law 114-113 fee of $4,000 if the employer has 50 or more U.S. employees and more than half hold H-1B or L-1 status.
$100,000 proclamation fee. A presidential proclamation signed September 19, 2025, requires this payment with every new H-1B petition filed after September 21, 2025. It applies to cap-subject petitions, including the FY 2027 lottery cycle, and to other new H-1B filings. It does not apply to renewals or extensions.¹¹

For a large employer filing a new cap-subject petition, combined government fees now come to roughly $103,280 before counsel. Attorney fees for preparing and filing generally run $1,500 to $5,000 on top of that.

Several of these costs cannot be shifted to the worker. Federal rules prohibit deducting the ACWIA training fee, the Fraud Prevention and Detection fee, or LCA and I-129 filing expenses (including attorney fees and any premium processing fee) from the beneficiary’s pay.¹² The employer bears them.

Filing, Review, and How Long It Takes

The complete package (signed I-129, certified LCA, evidence, and fees) goes to the USCIS service center with jurisdiction over the employer’s location. Each fee typically needs a separate check. Bundling them incorrectly gets petitions rejected outright.

USCIS issues Form I-797C as a receipt notice once the filing is accepted. That notice carries a 13-character receipt number for online case tracking.¹³ Standard processing at cap-subject volume runs several months and shifts throughout the year.

During review, an officer may issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) if the initial filing doesn’t clearly establish eligibility.¹⁴ An RFE isn’t a denial; it’s a chance to supplement the record. Deadlines are strict, though, and missing one means USCIS decides on what it has. The most common RFE topics are whether the position really qualifies as a specialty occupation and whether the beneficiary’s credentials match the job requirements.

Premium Processing

Employers who need speed can file Form I-907 for premium processing. USCIS commits to taking action (approval, denial, or an RFE) within 15 business days, or it refunds the premium fee.¹⁵ It buys speed, not approval. As of March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for H-1B petitions on Form I-129 is $2,965; petitions postmarked on or after that date with the old fee amount will be rejected.¹⁶

Getting the Worker Into H-1B Status

Approval of the petition doesn’t automatically put the worker in H-1B status. The next step depends on where the beneficiary is.

Consular Processing

A beneficiary outside the United States takes the approval to a U.S. embassy or consulate for visa stamping. That means completing Form DS-160 online, paying the visa application fee, and attending an in-person interview. If satisfied, the consular officer stamps the H-1B visa into the passport.¹⁷ Interview wait times vary widely by country and can add weeks or months to the timeline.

Change of Status

If the beneficiary is already in the U.S. on another valid nonimmigrant status, such as F-1, the employer can request a change of status inside the I-129 petition. On approval, the worker moves into H-1B status on the petition’s effective date without leaving the country.¹⁸ The approval notice includes an updated I-94 showing the new status and authorized stay dates, which the employer verifies at onboarding.

How Long H-1B Status Lasts

Initial H-1B status is valid for up to three years and can be extended for another three, capped at six years total.¹⁸ After six years, the worker generally has to leave the country for at least a year before qualifying for a new H-1B, unless they meet one of two exceptions tied to the green card process.

The first: if 365 days or more have passed since the employer filed a permanent labor certification or an I-140 immigrant petition on the worker’s behalf, USCIS can grant one-year H-1B extensions past the six-year cap. The second, and more common: if the worker has an approved I-140 but no immigrant visa is available due to per-country backlogs, USCIS can grant three-year extensions.¹⁸ For workers from countries with long green card queues, like India and China, these extensions are what keep employment lawful well beyond six years.

Changing Employers Without Waiting

H-1B workers don’t have to wait for a new petition to be approved before starting with a new employer. Under federal law, a worker lawfully admitted in H-1B status can begin working for the new employer as soon as that employer files a nonfrivolous petition, provided the filing is made before current status expires and the worker hasn’t previously worked without authorization.¹⁹ Work authorization for the new employer continues until USCIS decides. If the new petition is denied, that authorization ends.

Family Members on H-4

The H-1B worker’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come to the U.S. on H-4 dependent status. H-4 dependents can study but generally cannot work. The main exception applies to certain H-4 spouses: a spouse can apply for an Employment Authorization Document if the H-1B worker has an approved I-140 or has been granted H-1B status beyond the six-year cap under the extension provisions.²⁰ The spouse files Form I-765 and must have the EAD in hand before starting any job. Children lose H-4 status on marriage or age 21, whichever comes first.

If the Job Ends: The 60-Day Grace Period

Losing an H-1B job doesn’t drop the worker out of status right away. Federal regulations provide a grace period of up to 60 consecutive days, or until the authorized validity period ends (whichever is shorter), once per validity period.²¹ In that window, the worker can look for a new sponsoring employer to file a transfer petition, apply to change to another nonimmigrant status, or wind down and leave.

Two things worth knowing. The worker can’t perform any work during the grace period unless separately authorized. And USCIS has discretion to shorten or eliminate it. The 60 days run from the actual end of employment, not from the date notice is received, so for a laid-off worker, getting a new employer to file a transfer petition inside that window is usually the only way to keep status in the United States.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Cap Season
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Specialty Occupations
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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. H-1B Electronic Registration Frequently Asked Questions
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process
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U.S. Department of Labor. Important Foreign Labor Certification H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Information
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U.S. Department of Labor. What Are an H-1B Employer’s Notification Requirements?
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part E Chapter 9 – Evaluation of Education Credentials
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Reminds Certain Employment-Based Petitioners to Submit the Correct Required Fees
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B FAQ
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U.S. Department of Labor. What Are the Rules Concerning Deductions From an H-1B Worker’s Pay?
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipt Number
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part E Chapter 6 – Evidence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing?
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consular Processing
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses
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eCFR. 8 CFR 214.1 – Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status