H-1B: specialty occupation workers

Eligibility requirements

• The position must be a specialty occupation: it must require the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialised knowledge and the attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent, as a minimum for entry into the occupation. The employer must show that the degree requirement is genuine for this role, not simply preferred.
• The person must hold the required US degree or a foreign equivalent, or an equivalent combination of education, training and progressive experience evaluated under the regulations. Where a licence is required to practise, the licensing position must be addressed.
• The employer must have filed, and obtained certification of, a Labor Condition Application for the occupation, wage and place of employment, attesting to the wage, working conditions, absence of a strike or lockout and notice to the workforce.
• The employer must offer the higher of the actual wage paid to similarly employed workers and the prevailing wage for the occupation in the area of intended employment, and must pay it for the period of employment.
• Unless the employer is cap-exempt, the beneficiary must have been selected in the registration for the relevant fiscal year. Institutions of higher education, their related or affiliated non-profit entities, and non-profit or governmental research organisations are not counted against the cap.
• An employer-employee relationship must exist: the petitioner must have the right to control the person's work, including at third-party worksites. Contracts, statements of work and itineraries are expected where the person will be placed with clients.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Certified Labor Condition Application (ETA-9035) for the correct occupational classification, wage level, and every place of employment, with the public access file assembled before the petition is filed.
• A detailed description of the duties, the reasons the role requires a specific degree, the reporting line and, for third-party placements, the contracts and statements of work that show the employer's control and the actual worksite.
• The beneficiary's degree certificates and transcripts, a credential evaluation for foreign qualifications, and evidence of experience where equivalence is claimed; licences where the occupation requires them.
• Evidence of the employer's business: tax identification, financial standing, organisation chart and, for new or small employers, evidence that the business can employ a specialty worker at the offered wage.
• The registration selection notice for cap-subject petitions, or the basis for cap exemption, and any documentation of the payment or exemption required under the entry proclamation for a beneficiary outside the United States.
• For extensions and amendments: pay records showing the LCA wage was paid, and documentation of any change of worksite, role or hours since the last approval.

How to apply

1. 01

   Classify the role and the employer

   Decide whether the role is a specialty occupation, whether the employer is cap-subject or exempt, and whether the beneficiary is in the United States in a status that permits change of status. Identify the wage level honestly: it drives both the LCA and, under the weighted selection rule, the odds of selection.

2. 02

   Register in the annual selection if cap-subject

   The employer submits a registration for each beneficiary during the initial registration period, normally in March, with the required fee. Selection is by unique beneficiary, weighted so that a level IV wage is entered four times, level III three times, level II twice and level I once. Selected registrants may file petitions from 1 April in the filing window set by USCIS.

3. 03

   Obtain the certified LCA

   File Form ETA-9035 through the FLAG system no earlier than six months before the start date. The Department of Labor reviews the application for completeness within seven working days. Post the notice at the worksite and place the LCA and wage documentation in the public access file.

4. 04

   File Form I-129 with USCIS

   The employer files the petition with the H classification supplement, the certified LCA and the supporting evidence. For cap petitions, the start date must be 1 October or later of the relevant fiscal year. Premium processing may be available; check USCIS for current availability and fees.

5. 05

   Complete visa issuance or change of status

   A beneficiary abroad applies for the visa at a consulate with the approval notice; the proclamation payment or exemption evidence will be examined for beneficiaries outside the United States. A beneficiary in the United States whose change of status was approved begins work on the validity date.

6. 06

   Maintain the status through the assignment

   Pay the LCA wage, update the LCA and amend the petition for a material change of worksite or role, keep the public access file, and calendar the six-year limit against any permanent-residence process so that AC21 extensions remain available.

After approval & family planning

• A spouse and unmarried children under 21 may hold H-4 status and may study. H-4 status does not itself authorise employment; a spouse may apply for an employment authorisation document only in the circumstances defined in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(9)(iv), principally where the H-1B principal is the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140 or holds an AC21 extension beyond six years.
• Portability under INA 214(n) allows an H-1B worker to begin employment with a new employer when that employer files a non-frivolous petition before the current period of stay expires; the new employer needs its own LCA and petition, and the worker should keep evidence of continuous status.
• The six-year maximum can be extended in one-year increments where a labour certification or immigrant petition was filed at least 365 days earlier, or in three-year increments where an I-140 is approved but an immigrant visa number is unavailable. H-1B permits dual intent, so pursuing permanent residence does not jeopardise the status.
• Time spent outside the United States does not count towards the six years and can be recaptured with evidence of the absences. After the limit is reached without an extension basis, the person must generally spend a year abroad before new H-1B time is available.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. H-1B may be assessed for a participant whose role is a genuine specialty occupation with a US employer able to pay the required wage. Selection in the cap cannot be planned for; cap-exempt employment or an alternative classification is normally considered alongside it. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• The wage level chosen for the LCA is now a compliance question and a selection question at once. Understating the level to improve costs undermines the registration; overstating it to improve selection odds creates a wage liability that must actually be paid.
• Employers with a cohort of cap-subject hires should model alternatives in parallel: cap-exempt affiliations, L-1 for employees with a year of overseas service, O-1 for exceptional candidates, TN for Canadian and Mexican professionals, and E-3 or H-1B1 for Australian, Chilean and Singaporean nationals.
• Policy affecting H-1B has changed repeatedly since 2025, including fees, selection and entry conditions. Confirm the current position with USCIS and the Department of State before filing and before any international travel by an H-1B employee.