H-1B Visa: Requirements, Cap, Fees, and Work Rules

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Contents

A degree alone does not make a job eligible
Understand the employer’s role and the filing sequence
The cap is separate from the qualifications
Separate current fees from litigation and proposals
Pay and working conditions remain part of compliance
Changing employers, losing a job, and the period of stay
Family members and long-term plans
Sources

Key Facts

Job and worker: A specialty-occupation H-1B case must establish both a qualifying position and a worker qualified to perform it.
Employer petition: The ordinary specialty-occupation process uses a certified Labor Condition Application and an employer-filed Form I-129.
Cap selection: Current regulations use wage-level weighting when random selection is necessary; selection does not itself approve the petition.
Changing jobs: Qualifying H-1B portability can authorize new employment after a properly filed petition, subject to the requested start date and eligibility conditions.
After employment ends: The possible grace period is up to 60 consecutive days or the remaining authorized validity period, whichever is shorter, and does not itself authorize work.

The H-1B visa is a federal temporary-work classification used for specialty occupations, with separate provisions for certain defense-project work and distinguished fashion models. This guide focuses on the ordinary specialty-occupation route: the job, the worker’s qualifications, employer sponsorship, cap selection, and maintaining authorized employment.

If a search for an “H1 visa” or “HB1 visa” brought you here, check the exact classification on the employer’s proposed filing. H-1B1 is a separate specialty-occupation category for nationals of Chile and Singapore, so its rules should not be assumed to match H-1B.

For the wider relationship between visas, petitions, and legal status, see the U.S. immigration system guide. The details below were checked on September 9, 2026, including the fee changes discussed separately.

A degree alone does not make a job eligible

A specialty occupation requires highly specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree in a directly related specific specialty, or its equivalent, as the minimum for entry. A position that accepts a general degree without further specialization does not meet that definition.

The required field must have a logical connection to the actual duties. A position may accept several degree fields, but each must be directly related to the work.

The position must also satisfy at least one regulatory criterion: the degree is normally required for entry into the occupation, for comparable industry positions, by the employer or relevant third party, or because the duties are sufficiently specialized, complex, or unique. The analysis therefore concerns the real duties and normal requirements, rather than the job title alone.

The worker separately needs a qualifying U.S. degree, an equivalent foreign degree, an appropriate unrestricted license, or qualifying equivalent education, training, and experience with recognition of expertise. Where professional licensing is required, the federal H-1B rules also address the license needed to perform the work; immigration approval does not replace a required professional credential.

Useful preparation starts with a detailed duties description, the employer’s actual entry requirements, academic records, and evidence explaining any claimed equivalency. Compare the proposed role with those records before treating an impressive résumé as a complete eligibility case.

Understand the employer’s role and the filing sequence

For an ordinary specialty-occupation petition, the employer first obtains a certified Labor Condition Application, commonly called an LCA, from the Department of Labor. The employer then submits Form I-129 with the certified LCA and evidence supporting the requested H-1B classification.

DOL normally receives the LCA electronically through its FLAG system, with limited approved paper-filing exceptions. LCA certification and USCIS petition approval are separate steps, so a certified LCA alone does not approve H-1B classification.

A worker outside the United States generally proceeds to a visa application after petition approval if a visa is required, and must separately seek admission in H-1B classification. For someone already in the country, the requested change or extension of status and its effective dates require separate attention.

Ask who is preparing the LCA and petition, what evidence remains outstanding, and which approval or filing event must occur before work can begin. Keep the proposed start date, petition validity dates, and admission record together when reviewing the sequence.

A beneficiary-owned company is not automatically excluded from petitioning. The regulation permits a controlling owner to perform ownership and management duties if specialty-occupation duties occupy a majority of the time, and it applies shorter initial and first-extension validity limits to that arrangement.

The cap is separate from the qualifications

The regular annual H-1B cap is 65,000, subject to the statutory H-1B1 allocation adjustments. An additional exemption covers up to 20,000 beneficiaries with a qualifying master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education.

Certain employment at qualifying higher-education institutions, related or affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit research organizations, or government research organizations is cap-exempt. Nonprofit status by itself does not establish that an employer falls within one of those categories.

For a cap-subject case under the registration system, the petitioner needs a selected registration for that beneficiary and fiscal year before filing the petition. If random selection is necessary, current regulations place beneficiaries in the pool using wage-level weights: level IV four times, level III three times, level II twice, and level I once.

The selection rule uses the lowest assigned Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics wage level among registrations submitted for the same beneficiary. Weighting changes the selection process; it does not make the highest wage level a guarantee of selection or approval.

As of this review, USCIS reports that it has received enough petitions to reach both the fiscal year 2027 regular cap and the advanced-degree exemption. That cap announcement does not eliminate the separate rules for genuinely cap-exempt petitions.

A move from cap-exempt work to cap-subject employment can introduce a cap issue when the worker has not previously been counted and no other exemption applies. A new employer should assess that point before treating the case as an ordinary employer change.

Separate current fees from litigation and proposals

There is no single government-charge figure that fits every H-1B filing. Employer characteristics, the petition request, and applicable exemptions affect which charges apply, so use the current USCIS fee schedule for the actual filing.

Effective September 9, 2026, the $4,000 H-1B 9–11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee applies to covered petitioners with at least 50 U.S. employees when more than half of those U.S. employees are in H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B status. The revised rule includes extension-of-status petitions, while exempting amended petitions that do not request a status extension.

A different $100,000 payment policy is affected by litigation. The district court vacated the implementing policy on June 8, 2026, and the First Circuit denied the government’s requested stay on July 24; USCIS currently states that DHS will comply with the court’s order.

Separately, an August 25, 2026 proposed rule would impose a $103,265 fee on cap-subject H-1B petitions, including those within the advanced-degree exemption, in addition to other applicable charges. It is a proposal, not an effective filing charge as of September 9, 2026.

These developments should not be combined into a single advertised “visa price.” Check the filing-date fee schedule and the current court and rulemaking notices before relying on a quote prepared earlier.

Pay and working conditions remain part of compliance

The required H-1B wage is the higher of the employer’s actual wage for comparable workers and the prevailing wage for the occupation in the intended employment area. The employer must also provide benefits on the same basis and under the same criteria as for comparable U.S. workers.

An employer generally cannot avoid the required wage by leaving the worker without assignments. The regulation requires pay for employer-caused nonproductive time, while recognizing different treatment for qualifying personal absences and a bona fide termination.

The LCA also includes working-condition and notice obligations. Working-condition protections appear in 20 C.F.R. § 655.732; the separate notice requirements appear in § 655.734.

Keep copies of the LCA information, job description, pay statements, and communications about unpaid time or changed duties. Those records can make a later conversation with the employer, counsel, or the appropriate agency more concrete.

Changing employers, losing a job, and the period of stay

Eligible H-1B portability permits new or concurrent employment once a nonfrivolous petition is properly filed, or on the requested start date, whichever is later. The conditions include prior lawful H-1B admission or status, a timely petition requesting amendment or extension of stay, and no unauthorized employment since the last admission.

Portability-based work authorization ends when the petition is adjudicated; an approval supplies the new authorized period, while a denial ends authorization based on that pending petition. A job offer alone does not satisfy the filing requirement.

After employment ends, the possible grace period protects against a status violation based solely on that cessation for up to 60 consecutive days or the remaining authorized validity period, whichever is shorter. It is available once during each authorized validity period, DHS may shorten or eliminate it, and it does not independently authorize employment.

Ordinary specialty-occupation approvals may generally cover up to three years, with a usual six-year overall limit. A controlling owner’s initial petition and first extension are each limited to up to 18 months.

Separate regulatory exceptions can permit time beyond six years, including qualifying lengthy green-card processing or visa-unavailability situations. The applicable filing history, dates, and visa availability matter; merely intending to seek permanent residence does not establish an extension exception.

Family members and long-term plans

A qualifying spouse and children may seek H-4 dependent status, but H-4 status does not itself authorize work. Certain spouses can apply for employment authorization based on the H-1B worker’s approved immigrant petition or qualifying AC21 extension history; that spouse rule does not automatically cover every dependent.

H-1B rules permit a temporary worker to pursue permanent residence while complying with the temporary stay. An approved labor certification or the filing of an immigrant preference petition is not, by itself, a basis for denying the H-1B petition or the specified H-1B admission and status requests.

Before committing to a start date or transition, identify the sponsoring employer, cap position, authorized work period, pending filings, and any dependent’s separate work permission. Those are the practical facts to take into a focused discussion about the proposed H-1B case.