The H-1B Visa Explained

If you're a professional with specialized skills, the H-1B visa might be your way to work in the United States. This guide walks you through what it is, how it works, and what it means for you and your family.

What Is the H-1B?

The H-1B allows U.S. employers to hire foreign professionals for jobs that typically require a bachelor's degree—roles in fields like software development, engineering, healthcare, mathematics, or research. These are called "specialty occupations" because they need specialized knowledge and educational credentials.

However, there's an important limitation: the H-1B is subject to an annual lottery. While it's an excellent pathway for those selected, demand far exceeds the available visas, meaning not everyone who applies will win a spot. This lottery system makes the H-1B competitive and somewhat unpredictable.

For decades, U.S. companies across technology, healthcare, engineering, and research have used this visa to address talent shortages. For professionals worldwide, it opens doors to career growth, financial stability, and the possibility of building a long-term future in the United States.

The Basics

Duration: Three years initially, with extensions available up to six years total. If you're in the green card process with an approved or pending I-140 petition, you may qualify for extensions beyond six years in one-year or three-year increments.

Who's eligible: You need at least a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in a field related to your job. Some roles require master's degrees or higher. In certain cases, three years of relevant work experience can substitute for one year of college education. Fields like healthcare, education, law, and engineering also require valid professional licenses.

How many are available: 85,000 visas each year—65,000 for general applicants and 20,000 for those with advanced U.S. degrees. Selection happens through a lottery every March. However, certain employers are "cap-exempt," meaning they can sponsor H-1B workers outside the lottery system. This includes universities, nonprofit research organizations, and government research institutions, making the H-1B accessible to many more professionals than the lottery numbers suggest.

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Your employer's role: They sponsor your petition and handle the filings with USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) and the Department of Labor. They must demonstrate you'll be paid fairly and that hiring you won't harm U.S. workers.

Cost: Your employer must pay all mandatory fees by law: registration fee, filing fee, fraud prevention fee, training fee, and visa integrity fee. These costs cannot be passed to you. Premium processing (which guarantees a decision within 15 calendar days) is optional and can be paid by either your employer or you if timing is critical.

Your family: Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can join you on H-4 dependent visas. In certain situations—specifically if you have an approved I-140 immigrant petition—your spouse can also apply for work authorization.

What You Can Do on an H-1B

Once your petition is approved, you gain several important rights and opportunities:

Work legally: You're authorized to work for your sponsoring employer during your approved period. This is documented, official work authorization.

Change employers: You're not stuck with one company. If you want to switch jobs, your new employer files a transfer petition with USCIS and you can start working immediately when they submit it—no need to wait months for approval. This portability is one of the visa's most practical features.

Travel internationally: You can travel in and out of the U.S., though you'll need valid visa stamps from a U.S. embassy or consulate to re-enter the country.

Bring your family: Your spouse and children can live with you throughout your stay.

Pursue permanent residence: Because of dual intent, you can apply for a green card while working on your H-1B. The two processes run in parallel.

How to Get an H-1B: The Step-by-Step Process

What Your Employer Does

Step 1: March registration: Every March, USCIS opens the electronic registration window for positions subject to the 85,000 annual cap. Your employer creates a myUSCIS organizational account and registers you as a prospective worker. If working with an immigration attorney, the lawyer can be added to the account to coordinate everything.

Step 2: Lottery selection: If you're selected in the lottery, your employer receives an invitation to submit a full petition.

Step 3: Labor Condition Application: Before filing the actual petition, your employer submits a Labor Condition Application to the Department of Labor. This document certifies several things: you'll be paid at least the prevailing wage for your position and location, hiring you won't negatively affect U.S. workers' wages or working conditions, and there are no labor disputes (strikes or lockouts) for your occupation. Your employer must also maintain a public access file with LCA documentation.

Step 4: Form I-129 preparation: Your employer completes Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker). This comprehensive package includes:

• The certified Labor Condition Application
• A detailed letter explaining your job duties and why the position requires a degree
• Documentation proving your qualifications: degrees, transcripts, letters from previous employers, professional licenses
• If you'll be working at a client's location rather than directly at your employer's site, contracts or letters from that client

Step 5: Fee payment: Your employer pays the base filing fee, fraud prevention fee, training fee, and other fees that may apply based on their company size and circumstances. Premium processing is optional but guarantees a decision within 15 calendar days.

Step 6: Filing with USCIS: The complete petition package gets submitted online or by mail. Your employer must follow USCIS instructions carefully regarding fees, signatures, and filing addresses. After submission, USCIS issues a receipt notice confirming they've accepted your case.

Step 7: USCIS review: USCIS reviews your petition. Sometimes they issue what's called a Request for Evidence (RFE) if they need additional documentation or clarification on something. With premium processing, you'll get a decision within 15 calendar days. Standard processing times vary considerably—sometimes several months.

Step 8: Status change or consular processing: If you're already in the U.S. in lawful status (such as on an F-1 student visa), you can request a change of status to H-1B and remain in the country. If you're outside the U.S., you'll go through consular processing: complete Form DS-160, attend a visa interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate, and receive a visa stamp in your passport before traveling to the United States.

Step 9: Entry and work start: You may arrive in the U.S. up to 10 days before your official start date listed on your approval notice. However, you cannot begin working until that start date arrives. This advance arrival period gives you time to settle in, find housing, and get organized.

Step 10: Ongoing compliance: After approval, your employer must maintain the terms of the Labor Condition Application, notify USCIS about significant changes to your job, and ensure you remain compliant with your visa requirements.

What You Need to Provide

Educational credentials: Your bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in a field related to your job. Some positions require a master's degree or higher. If you have a foreign degree, you may need a credential evaluation showing it's equivalent to a U.S. degree.

Work experience documentation: If you're using experience to substitute for education, you'll need letters from previous employers detailing your responsibilities and duration of employment.

Professional licenses: If your field requires licensing (healthcare, teaching, law, engineering), you need valid, current licenses.

Intent documentation: While not always explicitly required, you should be prepared to demonstrate you plan to maintain temporary status appropriately and aren't trying to use the visa improperly.

What the Job Needs to Qualify

The position must genuinely meet the definition of a "specialty occupation"—it must require specialized knowledge and typically demand a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific field. Common examples include:

• Software engineers and developers
• Data scientists and analysts
• Civil, mechanical, or electrical engineers
• Medical researchers and healthcare professionals
• Financial analysts
• Architects
• College professors and specialized teachers
• Mathematicians and statisticians

The job description, required qualifications, and actual duties all need to align with this requirement. Your employer needs to make a clear case for why the position requires someone with your educational background. This is especially important if you'll be working at a third-party client site rather than your employer's office—clear contracts and detailed work arrangements help strengthen the petition in these situations.

Your Family: H-4 Dependent Visas

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can accompany you to the United States on H-4 dependent visas. Other relatives—parents, siblings, adult children, married children—are not eligible under this visa category.

What H-4 Visa Holders Can Do

Education: H-4 visa holders face no restrictions on education. They can attend U.S. schools at any level—elementary school, high school, college, university, graduate programs, or professional training programs—while maintaining their status.

Daily life: They can live with you, travel internationally (with proper visa stamps), open bank accounts, get driver's licenses, and participate in normal daily activities.

Work (with conditions): Most H-4 dependents cannot work in the U.S. There's one important exception: if you (the H-1B worker) are the beneficiary of an approved I-140 immigrant petition as part of the employment-based green card process, your spouse can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). With EAD approval, your spouse can work for any U.S. employer, take on freelance projects, or start their own business. This makes the H-4 one of the most flexible dependent visa options available.

Maintaining H-4 Status

Your dependents' H-4 validity is tied directly to your H-1B petition and period of stay. If your H-1B status ends, theirs ends too. When you file for an extension of your H-1B, your dependents must also file to renew their H-4 status at the same time to maintain continuous legal status.

Travel Considerations

When traveling internationally, H-4 dependents need valid visa stamps in their passports from a U.S. embassy or consulate (visa stamping is managed by the Department of State, not USCIS). If your employer files an amendment or extension to your H-1B petition with USCIS, your dependents often need updated approval notices before they can re-enter the United States. It's worth planning travel timing around any pending petitions.

Changing Jobs: How Portability Works

One of the most valuable features of the H-1B is job portability. You're not permanently tied to your original sponsor.

The process: When you want to change employers, your new employer must first obtain a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor. Once the LCA is certified, they file Form I-129 (a transfer petition) with USCIS on your behalf. Once USCIS accepts the filing and issues a receipt notice, you can begin working for the new employer immediately. You don't need to wait weeks or months for the petition to be approved—you can start as soon as they have that receipt.

What this means: You can pursue better opportunities, negotiate for higher salaries, or change career directions without being locked into one employer. This portability helps you maintain continuous employment and build your career while in the United States.

Important note: While you can start working immediately, your new employer still needs to go through the full petition process, including filing a new Labor Condition Application and paying all required fees. Your status remains H-1B, but it's now tied to your new employer instead of your previous one.

How Long You Can Stay

Initial Period

When your H-1B is first approved, you'll typically receive three years of authorized stay. The exact duration depends on several factors: the terms of your employment, the validity period of your Labor Condition Application, and the specifics detailed in your petition.

Six-Year Maximum

In most cases, you can maintain H-1B status for up to six years total. This usually works as an initial three-year period followed by one three-year extension. After six years, you must either leave the United States, change to another visa type, or qualify for an extension related to your green card application.

Extensions Beyond Six Years

Under immigration law, if you're pursuing permanent residence and are the beneficiary of an approved or pending I-140 immigrant petition (part of the employment-based green card process), you may qualify for extensions beyond the six-year limit. USCIS can grant these extensions in one-year or three-year increments while you wait for a visa number to become available for your green card. This is particularly important for people from countries with long green card backlogs.

Grace Periods and Buffer Times

USCIS provides some flexibility around employment changes and travel:

60-day grace period: If your employment is terminated—whether you're laid off, fired, or quit—you have up to 60 days (or until your I-94 expires, whichever comes first) to find a new employer to sponsor you, file a petition for another visa status, or prepare to depart the United States. This grace period gives you time to make arrangements without immediately falling out of status.

10-day buffer periods: You can enter the U.S. up to 10 days before your official start date and remain up to 10 days after your authorized stay expires. These periods are intended to accommodate travel logistics and departure arrangements, not for employment.

What It Costs

Mandatory Fees (Paid by Your Employer)

By law, your employer must pay these fees and cannot pass them to you:

• Registration fee (for the lottery)
• Base I-129 filing fee
• Fraud prevention and detection fee
• ACWIA training fee (American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act)
• Visa integrity fee
• Additional fees that may apply based on employer size under Public Law 114-113
• Asylum Program fee (may apply depending on company size)
• $100,000 H-1B fee for certain visa applicants who obtain their visa stamps through consular processing abroad, per the President's Executive Order issued on September 19, 2025. This fee would primarily affect new H-1B holders getting their first visa stamp at a U.S. consulate or embassy overseas, as well as current H-1B holders who need to renew their visa stamps when traveling outside the U.S. However, full implementation details, including exemptions, effective dates, and specific scenarios, are still being clarified.

These requirements exist to protect workers from being exploited and to ensure employers bear the costs of hiring foreign talent.

Optional Fees

Premium processing is optional and costs extra. It guarantees USCIS will make a decision on your petition within 15 calendar days rather than the standard processing time (which can be several months). This fee can be paid by either your employer or you, depending on your arrangement, and is often used when timing is critical for job start dates or fiscal year considerations.

The Green Card Path

Because the H-1B allows dual intent, it's often used as a bridge to permanent residence. You can actively pursue a green card while working on your H-1B—the two processes run in parallel.

Common Pathways

Most H-1B workers transition to permanent residence through employment-based green card categories:

EB-2 (Employment-Based Second Preference): For professionals with advanced degrees (master's or higher) or exceptional ability in sciences, arts, or business.

EB-3 (Employment-Based Third Preference): For professionals with bachelor's degrees, skilled workers, or other workers.

The Process

Both pathways typically begin with labor certification through the Department of Labor—your employer demonstrates there aren't sufficient U.S. workers available, able, willing, and qualified for your position. After labor certification approval, your employer files an I-140 immigrant petition with USCIS. Once that's approved (or sometimes while it's pending), you can file for adjustment of status if you're in the U.S., or go through consular processing if you're abroad.

The timeline varies significantly based on your country of birth—some countries have long backlogs for certain categories. This is where H-1B extensions beyond six years become important for people waiting for visa numbers to become available.

Important Things to Remember

Your Status Is Employer-Specific

Your H-1B approval is tied to the specific company that sponsored you. If you change jobs, your new employer must file a new petition. You can start working immediately upon filing, but the new petition still needs to go through the full process.

Compliance Matters

Both you and your employer need to follow the terms outlined in your Labor Condition Application. This includes your job duties, work location, and salary. If any of these change significantly, your employer needs to notify USCIS and may need to file an amended petition.

Documentation for Travel

If you travel internationally, you need a valid H-1B visa stamp in your passport to re-enter the U.S. If you're already in the U.S. and USCIS approves a change of status, you can stay and work without leaving. But the moment you travel abroad, you'll need to visit a U.S. embassy or consulate to get that visa stamp before returning.

Your Dependents Follow Your Status

Your family's H-4 status is completely dependent on your H-1B status. When your status ends, theirs does too. When you extend, they need to extend. When you change employers, they may need new approval notices. It all moves together.

Timing and Planning

Many aspects of the H-1B process involve timing: the March lottery, job start dates, fiscal year considerations, extension deadlines, and green card priority dates. Planning ahead and understanding these timelines helps avoid gaps in authorization or employment.

Multiple Agencies, One Process

The H-1B process involves coordination across three main government bodies, each with distinct roles:

USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services): Reviews and approves your petition, processes your change of status if you're already in the U.S., and handles all extensions and amendments.

Department of Labor: Certifies wages through the Labor Condition Application, ensuring you'll be paid fairly and that hiring you doesn't harm U.S. workers' wages or working conditions.

Department of State: Manages visa stamping at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad for people outside the United States or those who travel internationally and need to re-enter.

Each agency has specific requirements, deadlines, documentation standards, and processing procedures. Small errors in forms, supporting documents, or fee payments at any stage can delay your case or trigger requests for additional evidence.

Getting Support Through the Process

The H-1B process can feel overwhelming because it spans multiple agencies and involves detailed requirements at every stage. Many employers and workers find it helpful to work with someone who understands government requirements and can help navigate the complexities.

Lighthouse combines experienced case managers with technology designed for immigration processes. We help with document preparation that aligns with USCIS guidelines, provide hands-on support from dedicated immigration teams to keep cases on track, offer expert legal review to strengthen petitions and reduce the risk of requests for evidence, and coordinate timing to meet strict registration deadlines and job start dates.

We understand this process affects your career, your family, and your future. By combining automation with human expertise, we work to make the H-1B process less stressful for employers and smoother for workers.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does registration happen?
Every March, USCIS opens the electronic registration window. They announce exact dates ahead of time, usually a few weeks before registration begins. Your employer creates or logs into their myUSCIS account and registers you as a prospective worker. If you're selected in the lottery, you'll receive an invitation to proceed with a full petition.

How long can I stay in the U.S. on an H-1B visa?
Initially up to three years, with extensions available for a total of six years. If you have an approved or pending employment-based immigrant petition (I-140), you may qualify for extensions beyond six years in one-year or three-year increments while waiting for permanent residence.

Can I change jobs while on an H-1B visa?
Yes. Portability rules allow you to begin working at a new company once the new employer files your transfer petition with USCIS. You can start as soon as they receive the filing receipt—you don't need to wait for approval.

Can my spouse work on an H-4 visa?
Spouses of H-1B workers typically cannot work. However, if you (the H-1B worker) have an approved I-140 petition as part of the employment-based green card process, your spouse can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and, once approved, can work in the United States for any employer.

What happens if I lose my job while on an H-1B visa?
You receive a 60-day grace period (or until your I-94 expires, whichever comes first). During this time, you can find a new employer to sponsor you, file for another visa category, or prepare to leave the United States.

Is there a minimum salary requirement for H-1B workers?
Yes. By law, employers must pay you at least the prevailing wage set in the Labor Condition Application certified by the Department of Labor. This is the average wage for your occupation in your geographic area. This requirement protects both foreign workers and U.S. workers from unfair wage practices.

Can I apply for a green card while on an H-1B visa?
Absolutely. The H-1B is a dual-intent visa, which means you can pursue permanent residence while maintaining lawful temporary status. Many H-1B workers transition through EB-2 or EB-3 employment-based green card categories, often beginning with a labor certification filing.

Do I need to leave the U.S. for visa stamping?
If USCIS approves a change of status while you're inside the U.S., you can stay and work without leaving. However, if you travel internationally, you must visit a U.S. embassy or consulate to receive a visa stamp in your passport before you can re-enter the United States.

Can I work while my H-1B petition is pending?
It depends. If you're changing employers and your new employer has filed a transfer petition, you can start working as soon as USCIS accepts the filing (issues a receipt). If you're applying for your first H-1B or extending with your current employer, you generally cannot work until the petition is approved, unless you already have valid work authorization.

What if I'm not selected in the lottery?
Your employer can try again the following year. Some people also explore other visa options depending on their situation, such as the O-1 visa for individuals with extraordinary ability, the L-1 visa for intracompany transfers, or continuing on their current visa status if applicable.

What happens if my petition is denied?
If your petition is denied, you'll need to leave the U.S. unless you have another valid visa status. Your employer might have options to refile with additional evidence or appeal the decision, depending on the reason for denial. Sometimes denials happen because of insufficient documentation, which can be remedied in a new filing.

Can my children work on H-4 visas?
No. H-4 visa holders under 21 can attend school at any level but cannot work, regardless of whether you have an I-140 petition approved. Only spouses of H-1B workers can potentially obtain work authorization through the EAD process.

What's the prevailing wage and how is it determined?
The prevailing wage is the average wage paid to similarly employed workers in your occupation and geographic area. The Department of Labor determines this based on wage surveys and labor market data. Your employer must pay you at least this amount as certified in the Labor Condition Application. This protects both you and U.S. workers from wage suppression.

Can I do freelance work or start a business on an H-1B?
Your H-1B authorizes you to work only for your sponsoring employer in the specific role described in your petition. Side businesses or freelance work that constitutes "employment" gets legally complicated and can jeopardize your status. Some passive investments may be permissible, but you should consult with an immigration attorney before pursuing any work outside your H-1B employment.