H-1B Visa: US Work Visa for Specialty Occupations

You need two things: a qualifying job and qualifying education.

The job must be a "specialty occupation". That means it normally requires at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field. Software engineers, accountants, engineers, architects, doctors, teachers, and financial analysts are common examples. A job that any bachelor's degree could fill may not qualify.

You must have a US bachelor's degree or higher in a related field, or a foreign degree that is equivalent. In some cases, work experience can substitute (USCIS commonly counts 3 years of specialized experience for each year of missing university study). Some jobs also need a state license, such as medicine or law.

The employer must:

• Offer you a real job and pay at least the prevailing wage or the wage it pays similar workers, whichever is higher
• Get a Labor Condition Application (LCA) certified by the Department of Labor (DOL)
• File Form I-129 with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

You cannot sponsor yourself as a freelancer. If you run your own company, special rules apply, and you should get legal advice. For employers, see our guide to sponsoring an H-1B worker.

Congress limits new H-1B visas to 65,000 a year, plus 20,000 for people with a master's degree or higher from a US university. Demand is much higher, so USCIS selects registrations in a lottery.

A final rule published on December 29, 2025 took effect on February 27, 2026. It replaced the purely random lottery with a wage-weighted selection, first used for fiscal year (FY) 2027 registrations in March 2026. Each registration gets entries based on the DOL wage level of the offered salary for that job and location:

Selection is by person, not by registration, so several employers registering the same worker does not increase that worker's chances. Read our H-1B lottery guide for timing and strategy.

Who skips the lottery (cap-exempt): universities and their affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations can file at any time of year. Workers who already hold H-1B status and change employers or extend usually do not go through the lottery again.

A presidential proclamation signed on September 19, 2025 created a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025. When in effect, it covers petitions for workers outside the United States who do not have a valid H-1B visa, petitions that ask for consular or port-of-entry notification, and cases where a change or extension of status inside the United States is denied. A second proclamation on September 18, 2026 extended the policy to September 21, 2027.

As of September 2026, USCIS is not collecting the payment. The courts have split:

• On June 8, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts vacated the guidance that put the payment into effect, and on July 24, 2026 the 1st Circuit refused to pause that ruling. DHS has said it will comply while it considers next steps, and that it still plans to collect the payment if the order is lifted.
• In December 2025, a federal court in Washington, DC upheld the fee. That case is on appeal at the D.C. Circuit.

Because the situation can change quickly, check our H-1B $100k fee status page and ask your employer's immigration counsel before filing or traveling.

• Initial period: up to 3 years
• Extension: up to 3 more years, for a usual maximum of 6 years
• Beyond 6 years: allowed in 1-year steps if your PERM labor certification or I-140 petition was filed at least 365 days earlier, or in 3-year steps if your I-140 is approved but a green card number is not yet available
• Time abroad does not count toward the 6 years and can be added back ("recaptured")

On an H-1B you may:

• Work only for the employer (or employers) that petitioned for you, in the job described
• Change employers once the new employer files a petition for you (H-1B portability)
• Hold more than one H-1B job at once, if each employer files a petition
• Travel in and out of the United States with a valid visa
• Apply for a green card (H-1B allows dual intent)

If you lose your job, you generally have a grace period of up to 60 days (or until your I-94 ends, if sooner) to find a new sponsor, change status, or leave.

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can live with you on H-4 visas. They can study. H-4 spouses can work only with a work permit (EAD), which is available once you have an approved I-140 or have extended your H-1B beyond 6 years based on a green card case. Since October 30, 2025, H-4 EAD renewals no longer get an automatic extension while pending, so file early.

Most H-1B costs are paid by the employer, and some fees by law cannot be passed to the worker.

USCIS amounts are from the USCIS fee schedule as of September 2026. Our H-1B sponsorship guide for employers covers these costs from the employer's side.

The H-1B calendar is fixed for cap cases: registration in March, results by the end of March, petitions filed from April 1 during a filing window of at least 90 days, and the earliest start date is October 1.

USCIS processing times for Form I-129 change often. Check the official USCIS processing times tool. With premium processing, USCIS acts on the petition within 15 business days. If you are abroad, add the time to get a visa interview; check the State Department's wait times. Since December 2025, H-1B and H-4 visa applicants have been subject to an online presence (social media) review.

Travel ban: Proclamation 10998 blocks all visas, including H-1B, for nationals of 19 fully restricted countries since January 1, 2026. The 20 partially restricted countries are not blocked from H-1B visas.

The usual route is employer sponsorship:

1. PERM labor certification from DOL
2. Form I-140 petition in the EB-2 or EB-3 category
3. Adjustment of status when your priority date is current in the visa bulletin

Some people qualify without an employer through the EB-1A or EB-2 NIW. Workers born in India and China face long waits in most categories.

Common reasons for denials and requests for evidence (RFEs): the job does not clearly need a specific degree, your degree field does not match the job, the wage level or LCA does not match the job, unclear work arrangements at a client site, or gaps in your past status. At the consulate, cases can be held for 221(g) administrative processing.

Comparing options? See H-1B vs O-1 and TN vs H-1B. Canada has also promised a pathway for H-1B holders; see its status page.