H-1B Visa — Approved Beyond the Lottery
Specialty occupation work visa enabling U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in fields like technology, finance, engineering, and architecture.
About This Visa
The H-1B is a nonimmigrant work visa for specialty occupations—roles that require, at minimum, a U.S. bachelor's degree or its equivalent in a directly related specific specialty. The statutory cap is 65,000 visas per fiscal year plus 20,000 for beneficiaries with a U.S. master's or higher degree. Higher-education institutions, their affiliated nonprofits, and nonprofit or governmental research organizations are cap-exempt and can petition year-round.
USCIS shifted to a beneficiary-centric lottery in FY2025 (March 2024 registration), meaning each beneficiary has one chance in the lottery regardless of how many employers register them. The Department of Homeland Security's H-1B Modernization Rule, effective January 17, 2025, updated the specialty-occupation definition (requiring a 'directly related' degree) and revised rules around third-party placement, F-1 cap-gap, and amendments. These changes affect petition strategy and how cases are framed for adjudication.
At Locke Immigration Law, H-1B work spans cap-subject registration, cap-exempt petitions, amendments, transfers, extensions, and the entire RFE response cycle. We handle Department of Labor public-access-file compliance, prevailing-wage strategy across the four DOL wage tiers, and the third-party-placement documentation that USCIS now scrutinizes closely. We do not file template petitions; for borderline specialty-occupation determinations, we evaluate alternatives (O-1, L-1, E-3, TN, H-1B1) before committing the registration.
Total H-1B cap-subject visas per fiscal year (65,000 regular + 20,000 U.S. master's). Cap-exempt employers face no lottery and can file year-round.
The H-1B lottery: your odds, by year
Share of eligible registrations selected each cap season (USCIS, all rounds)
A U.S. master's degree improves your odds. Advanced-degree holders get two draws: they ride the regular 65,000 lottery first, and everyone not selected then enters a second draw for the 20,000 master's-cap visas. The chart shows the overall rate — USCIS doesn't publish the per-cap split — but the structure is why a U.S. master's reliably beats the headline number.
FY2024 was an anomaly. Registrations spiked to 780,000 because the same beneficiaries were entered through many employers at once. USCIS closed that loophole with the beneficiary-centric rule in FY2025 — now each person gets one entry no matter how many employers register them — and the odds recovered.
What changes next: starting with the FY2027 season, selection is no longer a flat lottery — DHS now weights it toward higher-wage registrations, so a registration's odds depend on its wage level. We plan each case with that in mind.
Source: USCIS H-1B Electronic Registration Process statistics (eligible vs. selected registrations, all rounds). Rate shown is selected ÷ eligible. Educational, not legal advice.
Who Qualifies for an H-1B?
Both the position and the worker must independently qualify. Under the 2025 specialty-occupation rule, the offered position must require a directly related U.S. bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in a specific specialty, and the beneficiary must hold that degree (or its evaluated foreign equivalent or experience equivalent).
Valid job offer from a U.S. employer for a position requiring a directly related specialty-occupation degree
Beneficiary holds a U.S. bachelor's or higher in the directly related specialty, an evaluated foreign equivalent, or a qualifying experience-equivalency combination
Position duties are primarily specialty-occupation in nature, not general supervisory or business-administration work
Certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) at the correct prevailing-wage level for the role and worksite
The H-1B Process
Eligibility and Strategy Assessment
We confirm specialty-occupation fit under the 2025 rule, evaluate prevailing-wage tier options, and identify alternatives if H-1B is borderline. For cap-subject candidates, we plan around the March beneficiary-centric registration window; for cap-exempt employers, we file year-round.
Labor Condition Application (LCA)
The employer files Form ETA-9035E with the Department of Labor via the FLAG system. We select the appropriate prevailing-wage source and tier, prepare the public-access file (required to be available within one working day after the LCA is filed with DOL), and document worksite locations for any third-party placement.
Cap-Subject Registration or Direct Filing
For cap-subject petitions, the employer registers the beneficiary in March under the beneficiary-centric lottery. If selected, the employer files Form I-129 with USCIS. Cap-exempt employers and amendments file directly without lottery.
I-129 Petition and USCIS Adjudication
We file Form I-129 with the LCA, evidence of the beneficiary's qualifications, position description, and supporting employer documentation. Premium processing is available for $2,965 with a 15-business-day response. Common adjudication pressure points include specialty-occupation fit, the beneficiary's degree-to-role match, and—for third-party placement—evidence of the employer-employee relationship and the specific work assignment at the end-client site.
Fortune 500 counsel, working directly on your case
Loren Locke
Managing Attorney
Partner-level immigration counsel to Fortune 500 employers at a national firm — and before that, a U.S. diplomat who decided some 12,000 visa applications at the consulate window.
“A first-time H-1B petitioner received approval in just 6 days through premium processing—well under the 15-day guarantee.”
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Immigration counsel to Fortune 500 employers at a national firm · Adjudicated 12,000+ visas at the U.S. Consulate, Mexico · Working in U.S. immigration since 2008
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