What Is an H-1B Visa? Specialty Occupations, Caps, and Fees

The H-1B visa is a temporary U.S. work visa that lets American employers hire foreign professionals for jobs that normally require at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific field. Congress caps new H-1B visas at 85,000 a year, with a separate uncapped track for universities and certain research organizations, and the employer, not the worker, drives the entire process from Department of Labor paperwork through the petition filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Because demand runs far higher than the cap, most new H-1B workers reach the visa through an annual lottery. Once approved, the visa can carry someone from a first professional job in the United States all the way to a green card, which is why it has become the country’s most-used skilled work visa.

Jobs That Qualify as Specialty Occupations

The H-1B is built around one idea: the job itself must be specialized enough that you would normally need a four-year degree to do it. Federal regulations recognize four ways a position can meet that bar. A bachelor’s degree in a directly related field is the standard entry requirement for the occupation; employers across the same industry typically require that degree for parallel roles; the sponsoring employer has consistently required the degree for the position; or the duties are so specialized that the knowledge involved is associated with a bachelor’s degree or higher.¹

“Normally” means usual or typical for the occupation, not required in every case. USCIS can deny a petition when the employer cannot show the degree requirement is standard across the industry, even if that particular employer happens to prefer degreed candidates. Software engineering, accounting, architecture, and physical therapy are classic examples of specialty occupations. General administrative work, retail management, and roles where a degree is preferred but not truly necessary do not qualify.

What the Worker Has to Bring

The job qualifying is only half of it. The worker also has to show they are actually qualified to fill it. The most direct path is a U.S. bachelor’s or higher degree in the required specialty from an accredited institution. A foreign degree works too, but it has to be evaluated by a recognized credential evaluation service and found equivalent to the U.S. degree the job demands.¹ Evaluation fees typically run between $100 and $600.

Workers without the exact degree can sometimes qualify through a combination of education, specialized training, and progressively responsible work experience. An unrestricted state license that authorizes full practice in the specialty also meets the requirement.¹ If the occupation requires a professional license in the state where the work will be performed, the worker must hold that license before starting the job.

The Annual Cap and the Lottery

Congress set the regular H-1B cap at 65,000 visas per fiscal year, with an additional 20,000 slots reserved for workers holding a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution. That brings the cap-subject total to 85,000.² Up to 6,800 of the regular slots are set aside each year for nationals of Chile and Singapore under free trade agreements.³

Since demand exceeds supply, USCIS uses a lottery. Employers register electronically during a window in early March, paying a $215 registration fee per beneficiary.⁴ USCIS then runs a random selection. Workers with a U.S. master’s degree or higher who are not chosen in the initial draw get a second chance in the advanced-degree pool. Only employers whose registrations are selected may file a full petition.

Cap-Exempt Employers

Not every employer has to go through the lottery. Institutions of higher education, nonprofit entities affiliated with those institutions, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations are exempt from the annual numerical limit entirely.² A university researcher or a physician employed by an academic medical center can be petitioned any time of year without competing in the lottery. Other nonprofits may qualify if they maintain an active affiliation with a cap-exempt institution, evaluated case by case.

What the Employer Files and Pays

Before the petition itself, the employer has to obtain a certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor on Form ETA-9035E, filed through the Foreign Labor Application Gateway system.⁵ In it, the employer promises to pay the higher of the actual wage paid to other employees with similar qualifications or the prevailing wage for that occupation in the geographic area,⁶ and attests that hiring the H-1B worker will not hurt working conditions for comparable U.S. employees. These are enforceable promises. The Department of Labor investigates violations.

With the certified Labor Condition Application in hand, the employer files Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker,⁷ along with an H-1B Data Collection Supplement that captures the company’s industry code and headcount.⁸ The package includes the worker’s transcripts and diplomas, any credential evaluation for a foreign degree, a detailed offer letter, and the certified Labor Condition Application.

Fees

H-1B costs add up quickly, and federal law prevents employers from shifting most of them to the worker. Government fees for a new petition as of 2026 include:⁹

A base I-129 filing fee of $780 for paper or $730 online, reduced to $460 for small employers and nonprofits.
An ACWIA training fee of $1,500 for employers with 26 or more full-time employees, or $750 for those with 25 or fewer.
A $500 fraud prevention and detection fee for new H-1B petitions and employer-change petitions.
An asylum program fee of $600 for most employers, $300 for small employers, and $0 for nonprofits.
An extra $4,000 fee under Public Law 114-113 for employers with 50 or more U.S. employees where more than half hold H-1B or L-1 status.

A standard employer with more than 25 employees filing a new paper petition pays at least $3,380 in government fees before legal costs. The ACWIA training fee and the fraud prevention fee cannot be passed to the worker under any circumstances, and no deduction is allowed that would drop the worker’s pay below the required wage.¹⁰ In practice, the employer bears the filing costs.

Premium Processing

Standard processing can stretch from several months to more than half a year. Employers wanting a faster answer can file Form I-907 and pay a premium processing fee of $2,965, effective March 1, 2026, for a decision within 15 business days.¹¹ That decision may be an approval, a denial, or a request for additional evidence, which resets the 15-day clock. Premium processing is one cost the employer and worker can agree to split, as long as the worker’s share does not push their pay below the required wage.

How Long You Can Stay

An initial H-1B petition covers up to three years. The employer can then request a three-year extension, bringing the maximum continuous stay to six years. After that, the worker generally has to spend a full year outside the United States before a new cap-subject H-1B petition can be filed for them.²

The six-year ceiling has two important exceptions from the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act. Section 104 lets a worker with an approved immigrant visa petition who is stuck in per-country backlogs extend H-1B status indefinitely until the green card application is decided.¹² Section 106 lets a worker whose employer filed a labor certification or immigrant petition at least 365 days before the six-year mark receive one-year extensions while that process is pending.¹³ These provisions keep workers from being forced out simply because the green card backlog runs longer than six years, which is common for applicants from India and China.

If the employer fires or lays off an H-1B worker before the authorized stay ends, it must pay the reasonable cost of the worker’s transportation back to their home country or last country of residence.¹⁴ That obligation applies only to involuntary termination. If the worker resigns, the employer owes nothing for the trip home.

Changing Employers

One of the most useful features of the H-1B is portability. A worker already in valid H-1B status does not have to wait for a transfer petition to be approved before starting a new job. As soon as the new employer files a properly completed, non-frivolous I-129 petition, the worker can begin employment.¹⁵ If the petition is ultimately denied, the new employment authorization ends. To use portability, the worker must have been lawfully admitted, must not have worked without authorization since that admission, and must be the beneficiary of a petition filed before their current authorized stay expires. A worker who has already been counted against the cap does not go back through the lottery.

The 60-Day Grace Period

When H-1B employment ends, whether by layoff, termination, or resignation, the worker does not fall out of status immediately. Federal regulations provide up to 60 days, or the end of the authorized validity period if it comes first, to find a new employer, change to another visa status, or prepare to leave the country.¹⁶ The worker cannot work during that period unless a new employer files a petition on their behalf. The grace period is available once per authorized validity period, and the Department of Homeland Security can shorten or eliminate it at its discretion.

Spouses and Children

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of H-1B workers can live in the United States on H-4 dependent status. H-4 holders can attend school full-time or part-time, but most cannot work.¹⁷

There is one meaningful exception. H-4 spouses whose H-1B partner has an approved I-140 immigrant petition, or who has been granted H-1B status beyond the six-year limit under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act, can apply for an employment authorization document that lets them work for any employer.¹⁷ H-4 status is entirely tied to the principal H-1B holder. If the H-1B worker loses status, dependents lose theirs too.

Dual Intent and the Green Card Path

Most temporary visa categories require the holder to prove they intend to return home when the visa expires. The H-1B is different. The statute explicitly provides that filing an immigrant petition or otherwise pursuing permanent residency does not count as evidence that the worker intends to abandon their foreign residence.¹⁴ An H-1B worker can hold a temporary visa while their employer sponsors them for a green card at the same time. This “dual intent” is what makes the H-1B the most common stepping stone to employer-sponsored permanent residence.

Travel While on H-1B

An approved H-1B petition does not, by itself, let you leave and re-enter the country freely. To be readmitted at a U.S. port of entry after traveling abroad, you generally need a valid H-1B visa stamp in your passport, your approved petition documentation, and a valid passport. If the stamp has expired, you have to visit a U.S. consulate abroad and obtain a new one before returning.

A narrow exception called automatic revalidation lets H-1B holders with expired stamps re-enter after short trips of fewer than 30 days solely to Canada or Mexico, provided they do not apply for a new visa while abroad. Nationals of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria are ineligible. Consular processing times vary, and getting stuck abroad waiting for a new stamp while an employer expects you at work is a situation worth planning around carefully.

1
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.2 – Special Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Cap Season
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FY 2027 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 4
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Important Foreign Labor Certification H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Information
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Prevailing Wage Information and Resources
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-129, Instructions for Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
10
U.S. Department of Labor. What Are the Rules Concerning Deductions From an H-1B Workers Pay
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
12
U.S. Government Publishing Office. American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Supplemental Guidance Relating to Processing Forms I-140 Employment-Based Immigrant Petitions and I-129 H-1B Petitions
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
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