How do the H-1B cap, registration and lottery work?

What is the H-1B cap?

The cap is an annual limit of 65,000 new H-1B statuses or visas each fiscal year, adjusted for H-1B1 set-asides and usage. This guide calls it the regular cap. A further 20,000 numbers, the advanced degree exemption, are for people who have earned a master's degree or higher from a US institution of higher education.

A worker is counted when issued a visa or given H-1B status, unless exempt. Petition extensions and extensions of stay are not counted, and H-4 spouses and children do not count against the cap.

Sources: USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupations: H-1B Cap and cap-exempt to cap-subject moves; 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(ii)(A)

Who is not subject to the cap?

Workers petitioned for or employed at these employers are not subject to the cap:

• An institution of higher education, as defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965.
• A nonprofit related to or affiliated with such an institution: through shared ownership or control, being operated by it, being attached to it as a member, branch, cooperative or subsidiary, or having a formal written affiliation agreement for research or education where a fundamental activity is directly contributing to its mission.
• A nonprofit research organization or a government research organization.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(F); USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupations: H-1B Cap and cap-exempt to cap-subject moves

Can someone not employed by those institutions be cap-exempt?

Yes, in one situation. A worker employed by another company qualifies if they spend at least half their work time performing duties at a qualifying institution that directly further its higher education, nonprofit research or government research mission. Telework and remote work can count; USCIS looks at the duties, not where they are physically performed.

Cap-exempt status can end. If cap-exempt employment stops and no new cap-exempt petition is filed, the worker becomes subject to the cap unless already counted within the same six-year period of H-1B admission.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(F)

How does the advanced degree exemption work in the draw?

USCIS first fills the regular cap, considering all registrations, including those for people who may also qualify for the advanced degree exemption. After that, it decides whether enough of the remaining registrations qualify for the advanced degree exemption and, if there are more than needed, runs a second weighted selection among them. A person with a US master's degree or higher can therefore be considered in both rounds.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(5)–(7)

What does the employer submit in registration?

Registration is short compared with a petition, but the rules are strict:

• A separate registration for each named worker. An employer may submit only one registration per worker per fiscal year; duplicates may make all of that employer's registrations for the person invalid.
• The wage level: the highest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level that the offered wage equals or exceeds for the job's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code in the work area. With several work locations, the lowest matching level is used; with a wage range, the lowest wage in the range decides.
• The SOC code, the work area used for the wage level, and the worker's valid passport or travel document. A worker may be registered under only one passport, and if abroad, it must be the one they will travel on.
• A registration fee, due when submitted and not refundable.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(1)–(3) and (h)(8)(iv); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(4); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(D)

When is registration open?

The initial registration period lasts at least 14 calendar days, and USCIS announces its start at least 30 calendar days ahead on its website. USCIS says it typically opens in March. USCIS can suspend the registration requirement if the system is inoperable, and then runs a selection based on filed petitions instead.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(1)–(3) and (h)(8)(iv); USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupations: H-1B Cap and cap-exempt to cap-subject moves

How is the selection made?

Each worker counts once, however many employers registered them. If a random selection is needed, USCIS assigns each worker the lowest wage level among all registrations for them, then enters them in the pool by wage level: level IV four times, level III three times, level II twice and level I once.

If there are fewer registrations than needed, everyone who properly registered is selected, and registration stays open until USCIS has enough. Registrations that are not selected stay on reserve for that fiscal year. If USCIS later needs more numbers, it selects from the reserve and can reopen registration.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(4); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(5)–(7)

What happens after selection?

USCIS notifies each employer whose registration was selected. Being selected is only permission to file; it is not an approved petition. The employer must then:

• File the H-1B petition on Form I-129 within the filing period on the selection notice, which is at least 90 days.
• Request a start date of 1 October or later of that fiscal year, filing no more than six months before the start date.
• Match the registration: the same identifying and position information, including the SOC code, also shown on the labor condition application (LCA), and a wage at or above the prevailing wage for the registered level.
• Submit evidence of the basis for the wage level as of registration, and of the passport used to register.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(D); USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupations: H-1B Cap and cap-exempt to cap-subject moves

Can the employer or the worker be changed after selection?

No. The employer may not substitute another worker or transfer the registration to another employer. USCIS may, in its discretion, accept some changes to the worker's details, such as a legal name change through marriage or a new passport number after renewal or a stolen passport, and a change in work area consistent with a genuine job offer at registration.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(D)

What does the USCIS page say about the $100,000 payment?

As of 19 October 2026, the USCIS H-1B page (last updated 21 September 2026) says this. A Presidential Proclamation of 19 September 2025 requires an additional $100,000 payment for certain H-1B petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on 21 September 2025: those for workers who are outside the US without a valid H-1B visa, and those asking for consular notification, port-of-entry notification or pre-flight inspection. It can also apply when a change of status or extension is requested but USCIS finds the worker ineligible for it. Payment is made on pay.gov before filing, with proof attached. The Secretary of Homeland Security grants exceptions only in extraordinarily rare circumstances.

On 8 June 2026, a federal district court in Massachusetts vacated the agency guidance implementing the payment. On 24 July 2026, the First Circuit denied the government's request to pause that order. USCIS says DHS will comply while it considers next steps and still plans to collect the payment if the order is lifted. This is unsettled and can change.

Sources: USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupations: Presidential Proclamation on Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers; USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupations: alert on the court order about the $100,000 payment

Government fees, as of 19 October 2026

As of 19 October 2026, the USCIS Form G-1055 fee schedule (edition 10/16/26) lists an H-1B registration fee of $215 per beneficiary. For each petition it lists a Form I-129 filing fee for H-1B of $780 on paper or $730 online ($460 for a small employer or nonprofit); an Asylum Program Fee of $600 ($300 for a small employer, $0 for a nonprofit); an ACWIA fee (American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act) of $1,500 or $750, depending on how many workers the employer has, unless the employer is exempt; and premium processing (Form I-907) at $2,965, optional and on top of all other filing fees. Other fees can apply, such as a $500 fraud prevention and detection fee for a first H-1B petition for the worker or a change of employer, and a $4,000 Public Law 114-113 fee for employers with 50 or more US employees, more than half of them in H-1B or L status, on most petitions filed through 30 September 2027. Fees change, and lawyer fees are separate.

Sources: USCIS Form G-1055, Fee Schedule (edition 10/16/26): H-1B Registration Tool, Appendix A I-129 H-1B petitions, and Form I-907

Common problems

• Registering the same worker twice from one employer, or under different identifying details.
• A petition that does not match the selected registration's wage level, SOC code or passport.
• Treating selection as a decision on the petition. USCIS still decides the full petition.
• Moving from a cap-exempt to a cap-subject employer without registration, when the worker has not already been counted.
• Missing the filing period on the selection notice.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(1)–(3) and (h)(8)(iv); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(D); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(F)

How Visa Trouble can help

We can point you to official information, but we don’t assess or prepare H-1B registrations or petitions. Free route discovery at Visa Trouble can show routes worth comparing if your plans go beyond this one. Visa Trouble is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.