The workhorse visa for degreed professionals: engineers, analysts, IT, healthcare, finance. A U.S. employer sponsors you for a role that requires a specific bachelor’s degree or higher. Here’s the whole h1b visa guide, in plain English.
The annual electronic registration. When demand exceeds the cap, selection is by lottery.
Visas in the annual cap, plus 20,000 reserved for holders of U.S. advanced degrees.
Of H-1B time: up to 3 at approval, extendable to 6, and beyond with a green card process underway.
Four things make or break an H-1B case: the role, the degree, the wage, and the cap. These h 1b visa requirements, and h 1b eligibility for h-1b specialty occupations, decide the outcome.
The job offer is for a role that requires at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field.
The worker holds that degree, or the equivalent through education and experience.
The employer pays the required wage under a certified LCA, attesting to wages and working conditions.
Cap-subject cases must be selected in the annual electronic registration: 65,000 visas, plus 20,000 for U.S. advanced degrees. Universities, nonprofit research organizations, and their affiliates are cap-exempt year-round.
The hb1 visa process runs the same five steps for every professional.
The employer registers in the March electronic registration; selection is by lottery when demand exceeds the cap.
File the LCA (Form ETA-9035) with the Department of Labor attesting to wages and working conditions.
File Form I-129 with USCIS in the filing window, with degree, job, and employer evidence.
Approval grants up to 3 years, extendable to 6, and beyond with a green card process underway (AC21 rules).
Plan the bridge early: H-1B is dual intent, so PERM/EB-2/EB-3 or EB-1/NIW can proceed in parallel. Missed the lottery? Consider cap-exempt roles, O-1, or country-specific treaty visas.
The annual March electronic registration. Cap-subject cases must be selected before filing.
The Labor Condition Application, filed with the Department of Labor: wages and working conditions.
The H-1B petition, filed with USCIS with degree, job, and employer evidence.
Universities, nonprofit research organizations, and their affiliates are cap-exempt year-round, no lottery required. Cap-exempt roles, O-1, or country-specific treaty visas can keep a career moving.
H-1B math is mostly employer math: the law requires the sponsor to pay the core petition fees, and several of them scale with company size. Workers stamping a first visa abroad face consular charges of their own, and some new petitions for workers overseas sit under a contested $100,000 proclamation payment that is now in the courts. Here is the stack as it stands in August 2026.
| Item | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic registration | $215 per beneficiary | Paid for the March lottery; not refunded if you are not selected |
| Petition fee (Form I-129) | $780 | $460 for small employers and nonprofits |
| ACWIA training fee | $750 or $1,500 | $750 for employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees; $1,500 above that |
| Fraud prevention fee | $500 | First H-1B petitions and changes of employer |
| Asylum Program Fee | $600 | $300 for small employers; $0 for nonprofits |
| Public Law 114-113 fee | $4,000 | Employers with 50+ U.S. employees where more than half hold H-1B or L-1 status |
| Premium processing (optional) | $2,965 | Raised from $2,805 on March 1, 2026; decision within 15 business days |
| 2025 proclamation payment | $100,000 (contested) | Certain new petitions filed since Sept 21, 2025 for workers abroad who need consular processing; a federal court held it unlawful in June 2026, but it is still collected while the appeal runs, and exemptions and rare national-interest exceptions exist |
For most people already in the U.S., no. It targets new petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025 for workers outside the country who do not hold a valid H-1B visa. Approved extensions, transfers, and changes of status decided inside the U.S. are not covered. A federal court struck the payment down in June 2026, yet it is still being collected during the appeal, so get current advice before any first-time consular case; this changes month to month.
Registrations have far exceeded the 85,000 available slots for hb1 visas in recent years, so most registrations are not selected in a given March. Treat the lottery as one lane, not the plan: register every year and keep a parallel option warm, because the strongest cases are the ones with a fallback already moving.
The employer, mostly, and not as a courtesy: Department of Labor rules bar passing the training fee to the worker, and deductions cannot drop pay below the required wage. Premium processing is the flexible one; either side may choose to cover it. If an employer asks you to repay petition costs, ask an h1b visa lawyer before agreeing.
Up to 60 days, or the end date on your I-94, whichever comes first, counted from the last day of employment. Inside that window a new employer can file a transfer, or you can file to change status, or depart. The days go quickly; start counting on day one and get help early.
It depends on what is pending. A pending change of status generally collapses if you leave the country, while travel during a same-employer extension is often workable with a valid visa stamp. First-time stampings abroad add the consular application fee, the new $250 integrity fee at issuance, and, for proclamation-covered cases, far bigger questions. Have the whole itinerary reviewed before booking anything.
Not automatically. USCIS looks at whether the degree field and the duties genuinely connect, and credential evaluations, transcripts, and expert letters can bridge a gap. Mismatched-degree cases draw requests for evidence, so build the bridge before filing, not after.
Every case is different. Tell us your story. The evaluation is free, and our h1b visa attorney team tells you exactly which path fits.
