The H-1B is the temporary visa for working in a specialty occupation for a U.S. employer. Three gears drive it: the definition of specialty occupation, reviewed by USCIS; the wage commitment the employer makes to the Department of Labor; and the annual cap, with the lottery that decides who may even file. All three have changed in the last two years.
Assessing an H-1B case today means assessing it against the new texts, not against a memory of how the visa used to work. That is why this page carries the date of each change: what applied in 2024 no longer does, and what an article from last year says may already be outdated.
What a specialty occupation is today
The statute requires the work to apply, in theory and in practice, a body of highly specialized knowledge, and that entry into the occupation normally require a bachelor's degree or higher in that specialty, or its equivalent. The regulation in force since January 2025 tightened the wording: the degree must be in a specialty directly related to the duties, a general degree is not enough, and a position may accept more than one field of study so long as each has a logical connection to the work.
The same rule brought reality requirements. The position must be genuine and available on the start date. Where you are placed to work at a client of your employer, the client's requirements count as well. And a refusal by the employer or the client to allow a USCIS site visit may lead to denial or revocation.
What the employer promises about your pay
Before filing with USCIS, the employer registers with the Department of Labor a document containing four promises: to pay the higher of the wage paid to its comparable employees and the prevailing wage for the occupation in that area; that there is no strike or lockout in that role; that employees were notified, through the union or by posting; and that the document specifies how many positions, the classification, the wage and the conditions.
The Department of Labor certifies that document within seven days, checking only for completeness and obvious error. That certification does not bind USCIS on the specialty occupation question: they are two independent reviews, and it is common for a case to clear the first and stall at the second. Breaking the promises carries its own schedule of penalties and can bar the employer from the program for one to three years.
The annual cap, the exemptions and the wage-weighted lottery
There are 65,000 visas a year, plus 20,000 reserved for holders of a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution. Outside the cap are jobs at universities and colleges, at nonprofits affiliated with them, at nonprofit research organizations and in government research. Anyone leaving such an employer becomes cap-subject again. The competition starts with an electronic registration centered on the person: each one competes only once, even if registered by several employers.
Fiscal year 2027 was the first to run under that rule. Registration was open from 4 to 19 March 2026, and USCIS announced selections on 31 March 2026. Entry-level offers still competed, but with a fraction of the chances of a higher-level offer. For anyone planning the next cycle, the practical consequence is that the wage level of the offer is no longer a contract detail: it is the factor that weighs most on the odds of being selected.
Duration, renewals and changing employers
Initial admission runs up to three years, renewable to a maximum of six, and time spent outside the country may be recaptured. Beyond the sixth year, the law known as AC21 opened two bridges: one-year renewals while a green card case filed more than 365 days earlier awaits a decision, and renewals of up to three years for someone whose immigrant petition is approved but who has no visa yet available in the queue.
Portability is the system's release valve. Someone who has already held H-1B may start with the new employer the moment the new petition is filed, provided it is non-frivolous and was filed before the authorized stay expired, and the authorization lasts until the decision. As for the H-4 spouse, that status alone does not permit work: authorization exists only where the principal has an approved immigrant petition or a renewal beyond the sixth year, and it must be applied for separately.
The fees, and what applies today
This is where circulating information ages fastest, and it is worth separating what is in force from what is not. There are three fronts, and only one of them has effect today.
| Front | Status as of 30 August 2026 |
|---|---|
| The hundred-thousand-dollar fee under Proclamation 10973 | Not being collected. The policy was vacated by the district court, and on 24 July 2026 the First Circuit denied the government's request to stay that ruling while the appeal proceeds. |
| Proposed fee of $103,265 per cap-subject petition | Still only a proposal, published on 25 August 2026. Public comments until 24 September 2026. It would not apply to cap-exempt filings. |
| 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee | Takes effect on 9 September 2026, and now reaches renewals by the same employer as well. It is $4,500 for the H-1B and $4,000 for the L-1, payable by the employer. |
On the first front, a note about sources. Proclamation 10973, of September 2025, required a hundred-thousand-dollar payment on new H-1B petitions for people outside the United States, with national-interest exceptions and a twelve-month term. The current state of the litigation comes from specialist sources, not from reading the decisions directly, and we record that limitation. As of 30 August 2026 we found no extension or revocation of the proclamation.
There is a fourth change under way, which is not a fee and may weigh more than all of them. On 27 March 2026 the Department of Labor proposed raising the prevailing wages used in the H-1B and also in employment-based green cards. The comment period closed on 26 May 2026 and we found no final rule as of 30 August 2026. If it issues as proposed, the floor wage at each level rises, which affects both the cost of hiring and where the offer lands in the weighted lottery.
Where petitions usually fail
- A general degree with no specialization, or a list of accepted fields in which one does not relate directly to the duties.
- A duplicate registration, or one with inconsistent data, for the same person: it invalidates everything and taints the petition.
- A wage lowered, or a classification switched, between the lottery registration and the petition.
- A position with no evidence that it exists and is available on the start date, especially where the work is performed at a client site.
- Refusal by the employer or the client to allow a USCIS site visit.
- A renewal petition filed after the status has expired.
- A regulated profession without the required state license.
- Planning around the hundred-thousand-dollar fee, one way or the other, without checking where the case stands that week.
Legal basis
- INA § 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b); § 214(i), definition of specialty occupation; § 214(g), the cap, exemptions and counting; § 214(n), portability; § 212(n), the Department of Labor attestations and the penalties.
- 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h), as of 11 August 2026: subsection (h)(4) covers the specialty occupation, the bona fide position and the beneficiary-owner; (h)(8), registration and selection, with wage weighting; subsections (h)(9) through (h)(15), periods, AC21 extensions, denial and revocation.
- Modernization rule, 89 FR 103054, in force since 17 January 2025. Weighted selection final rule, 90 FR 60864, published 29 December 2025 and in force since 27 February 2026.
- 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee: final rule at 91 FR 51360, published 10 August 2026, effective 9 September 2026, amending 8 C.F.R. part 106.
- Proposed $103,265 fee: 91 FR 54817, published 25 August 2026, comments due 24 September 2026, DHS Docket USCIS-2026-0298.
- Proclamation 10973, 90 FR 46027. The state of the litigation comes from specialist sources, without direct reading of the decisions, as stated above.
- Department of Labor proposal to revise prevailing wages: 91 FR 15454, of 27 March 2026, comments closed 26 May 2026, with no final rule located as of 30 August 2026.
Verified 24 August 2026. Written from INA §§ 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 212(n) and 214(g), (i) and (n), as in force on 22 Aug 2026, from 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h), paragraphs (4) and (8) through (15), in the 11 Aug 2026 version, which already incorporates the modernization rule in force since 17 Jan 2025, from the final weighted-selection rule published at 90 FR 60864, and from Proclamation 10973. The state of the proclamation litigation comes from specialist reporting of 10 Aug 2026, without direct reading of the court decisions, as declared in the text. This area moves fast: confirm the current state before acting.
General informational content. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration rules change frequently and may be enjoined by a court. Before acting, confirm that the rule is in force and consult an attorney about your own circumstances.