H-1B Specialty Occupation

Congress sets an annual cap of 65,000 regular H-1B visas plus 20,000 reserved for holders of U.S. master's degrees or higher. Demand vastly exceeds supply, so USCIS conducts a random lottery in March to select which registrations may file petitions. Recent lottery odds have been roughly 1 in 4.

A specialty occupation is one that normally requires a U.S. bachelor's degree (or higher) in a specific field directly related to the job duties. USCIS has tightened this in recent years — vague 'business' degree requirements often face Requests for Evidence; the degree field should be specific (e.g., computer science for a software engineer).

Yes. Cap-exempt employers — universities, affiliated non-profit research institutions, and government research organizations — can file H-1Bs year-round without the lottery. Concurrent cap-exempt H-1Bs (working for a cap-exempt employer while also having a cap-subject job) are also available.

Initial H-1B period is up to 3 years, extendable to a total of 6 years. Beyond 6 years, you can extend in 1-year or 3-year increments if you have an approved I-140 immigrant petition or an underlying PERM/I-140 pending past certain milestones (AC21 §104(c) and §106(a)).

Yes. The new employer files an H-1B transfer petition with USCIS. You may start working for the new employer as soon as USCIS receives the petition (porting under AC21 §105). Transfers do not require the lottery.

The prevailing wage is generally based on the occupation, geographic area, and required skill or experience level for the position. For H‑1B workers, the employer must pay the required wage, which is generally the higher of the prevailing wage for the occupation and area of intended employment or the actual wage paid to similarly qualified workers. Wage-level issues can arise when the selected wage level does not appear to match the duties, requirements, or experience level of the offered position.