For employers
H-1B Specialty Occupation
The default route for hiring foreign professionals, and the one with the most moving parts.
What the category requires
H-1B is available for positions that qualify as specialty occupations: roles requiring the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge, and requiring at least a bachelor’s degree, or its U.S. equivalent, in a directly related specific specialty as a minimum for entry.
The analysis that decides most contested cases is the nexus between the degree field and the duties.
The cap and registration
Most H-1B petitions for new employment are subject to an annual numerical limit, reached through an electronic registration and selection process that runs on a fixed calendar. Registration mechanics, the selection methodology, and the fee structure have all changed in recent cycles.
Cap-exempt employment
Not every H-1B is subject to the lottery. Institutions of higher education, certain affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations are exempt. Concurrent employment arrangements can sometimes reach candidates who would otherwise be capped.
LCA obligations
An H-1B petition requires a certified Labor Condition Application, and that certification carries continuing obligations: wage requirements, notice requirements, and a public access file you must maintain and produce on request. These obligations outlive the filing and are the most common source of DOL enforcement exposure.
Amendments and changes
Material changes to the terms of employment can require an amended petition before the change takes effect. Worksite changes are the most common trigger and the most commonly missed, including changes that feel administrative, like a move across a metropolitan boundary.
Extensions beyond six years
H-1B status is subject to a maximum period, with statutory provisions permitting extension beyond it where a labor certification or immigrant petition has been pending or approved for long enough. Those provisions are the reason PERM timing and H-1B timing are the same conversation.
Dependent family members
H-4 dependent spouses may be eligible for employment authorization in defined circumstances tied to the principal H-1B visa holder's green card progress.
Where employers get into trouble
- Starting PERM too late to support an extension beyond the sixth year
- Worksite changes without amendment
- Public access files that were never assembled
- Assuming the lottery (annual H-1B electronic selection) is the only route
Frequently Asked Questions About the H-1B
These are the questions I hear most often from employers and employees considering an H-1B.
Can I self-sponsor for an H-1B?
Sort of. Since January 2025, under the H-1B modernization rule, a person who owns a controlling interest in a U.S. company, meaning more than 50% ownership or majority voting rights, can be sponsored by that company. You still need a real U.S. company with a genuine specialty occupation job, and you still go through the lottery unless the company is cap-exempt. You can spend some of your time running the business, but the majority of your time has to be spent on the specialty occupation work described in the petition. The first approval and the first extension are each limited to 18 months, so expect more frequent filings than with a typical H-1B. After that, extensions can be approved for up to three years at a time, like any other H-1B.
What is the H-1B cap and when is registration?
Congress limits most new H-1Bs to roughly 65,000 a year, plus 20,000 more for people with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. Employers register candidates electronically each March, and USCIS announces the exact registration dates in advance. USCIS currently lists the registration fee at $215 per candidate, paid by the employer.
How does the H-1B lottery work now?
It’s no longer purely random. If more people register than there are H-1B numbers available, USCIS runs a lottery. Each person gets between one and four entries in the selection pool, depending on which Department of Labor prevailing wage level the offered salary meets. A higher salary relative to the role and location generally means better odds of being selected. If more than one employer registers the same person, USCIS uses the lowest wage level among those registrations.
Does the $100,000 fee apply to me?
Right now, no. A federal court blocked the $100,000 payment in June 2026, and it can’t be collected while that order stands.
When it was in effect, it mostly applied to employers hiring someone from outside the U.S. who didn’t already have an H-1B visa. People already in the U.S. who were changing to H-1B status or extending their H-1B generally didn’t have to pay it.
The government is appealing the court’s decision, and the President has extended the payment requirement through September 2027. So while it’s blocked today, that could change.
There’s also a separate proposed fee of $103,265 that would apply to most new H-1B petitions that go through the lottery, whether the worker is in the U.S. or abroad. It’s only a proposal for now and isn’t in effect.
I cover both of these in more detail in the Insights section of my website.
What if I’m not selected?
There are often other options depending on your background, including the O-1A for people with extraordinary ability, the L-1 for transfers from a related company abroad, an H-1B cap-exempt employer, or extending your time on F-1 STEM OPT and trying again the next year.
Last updated October 2026.
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