Large employer
26 or more full-time employees
$3,595
- Registration$215
- I-129 filing fee$780
- Asylum Program Fee$600
- Fraud prevention fee$500
- ACWIA training fee$1,500
H-1B SPECIALTY OCCUPATION
H-1B Process Guide
How the H-1B lottery, petition, and start date work, what employers pay, and how your wage level changes your odds.
Check your wage level01 · H-1B TIMELINE
From lottery to first day
02 · USCIS DATA
H-1B lottery odds
Your odds now depend on your wage level. Starting with FY2027, each level gets more lottery entries.
Old random lottery · about 30%
| Wage level | Lottery entries | Estimated chance |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | 1 entry | ~15% |
| Level II | 2 entries | ~31% |
| Level III | 3 entries | ~46% |
| Level IV | 4 entries | ~61% |
FY2026, the last random lottery: 343,981 eligible registrations, 120,141 selected (35%).
View USCIS registration data03 · COSTS
Who pays for an H-1B?
Your employer pays H-1B petition costs
USCIS petition fees are your employer's costs, not yours.
Never charged to youThe ACWIA training fee and $500 fraud prevention fee cannot be passed to you.
Your required wage is protectedAttorney or premium-processing costs cannot be deducted if that would bring your pay below the required wage.
What your employer pays USCIS
Small employer
25 or fewer full-time employees
$2,225
- Registration$215
- I-129 filing fee$460
- Asylum Program Fee$300
- Fraud prevention fee$500
- ACWIA training fee$750
University or research orgs
Cap-exempt, no lottery
$960
- Registration$0
- I-129 filing fee$460
- Asylum Program Fee$0
- Fraud prevention fee$500
- ACWIA training fee$0
Other nonprofits still enter the lottery and may owe the ACWIA fee.
Optional or special cases
- +$2,965Premium processing
Optional. USCIS decides within 15 business days.
- +$4,000Employers that rely heavily on H-1B or L workers
50+ U.S. employees, with more than half on H-1B or L status.
- −$50Filing Form I-129 online
Large employers pay $730 instead of $780.
About the $100,000 payment: USCIS is not currently collecting this payment after a federal court order. It generally did not apply to change-of-status cases inside the U.S. Check USCIS before filing.
04 · H-1B FAQ
Common questions about H-1B
H-1B status is approved for up to 3 years at a time, with a 6-year maximum in total.
Yes, with a green card case. If PERM or I-140 was filed at least 365 days earlier, you can extend in 1-year steps. With an approved I-140 and a Priority Date that is not current, you can extend in 3-year steps. See the PERM green card guide
Each year has 85,000 cap-subject H-1B visas: 65,000 regular plus 20,000 for people with a U.S. master's degree or higher. Cap-exempt employers, such as universities, do not use these numbers.
USCIS selects in two rounds. First, everyone is in one pool for the 65,000 regular cap. Then, people with a U.S. master's degree or higher who were not selected get a second chance at the 20,000 master's cap. The degree must be from a U.S. public or nonprofit institution. Both rounds use the wage level weighting.
Sometimes. If not enough selected employers file petitions by June 30, USCIS can run another selection later in the year, usually in July or August. For FY2026 and FY2027, USCIS announced the cap was reached, so there was no second selection.
Your F-1 status, and your OPT or STEM OPT work authorization, are extended until April 1 of the fiscal year you applied for (for an FY2027 petition, April 1, 2027), or until the H-1B start date if it is approved earlier. It requires a timely filed petition asking for a change of status, and it ends right away if the petition is denied, rejected, or withdrawn.
Yes, but it does not raise your odds. USCIS selects by person, so each person is in the lottery once. If you are selected, every employer that registered you can file a petition.
No. The employer pays $215 per registration whether or not you are selected.
No. It covered certain new petitions for workers outside the U.S., not changes of status inside the U.S. such as F-1 to H-1B. It is also not being collected while a federal court order is in effect.
Your employer can register you again next March. A STEM OPT extension can keep you working through another season, and cap-exempt employers can hire on H-1B without the lottery.
No. You were already counted against the cap, so a new employer files a new petition without a lottery. You can usually start once it is filed.
Cap-exempt employers: universities, their affiliated nonprofits, and nonprofit or government research organizations. They can file H-1B petitions any time of year.