Updated November 4, 2026

H-1B visa requirements: degree, specialty occupation, wage and visa stamp

To qualify for an H-1B visa, you need a job offer in a specialty occupation that normally requires at least a bachelor's degree in a directly related field, and you must hold that degree, an equivalent foreign degree, an unrestricted state license, or qualifying progressive experience.

Your U.S. employer must first obtain a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor and, for cap-subject jobs, be selected in the USCIS electronic registration lottery before filing Form I-129. Beginning with the FY 2027 cap season, USCIS weights lottery selections across four Department of Labor OEWS wage levels under an 85,000 annual cap.

H-1B eligibility checklist and 2024 to 2026 rule changes

Every H-1B petition rests on four pillars: a qualifying specialty occupation job, your degree or equivalent experience, a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor (DOL), and a valid cap registration if the employer is subject to the annual lottery. If you are preparing for your visa interview or reviewing a petition, see our overview of the H-1B visa and how stamping interviews work.

Between 2024 and 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and federal courts updated several rules on selection, ownership and fees. Use this checklist and timeline to confirm which rules apply to your petition.

• Job criteria: The offered role requires the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor's or higher degree in a directly related specific specialty as a minimum for entry.
• Worker credentials: You hold an accredited U.S. bachelor's or higher degree, an equivalent foreign degree, an unrestricted state license, or a combination of education, specialized training and progressively responsible experience equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree with recognition of expertise.
• Wage and LCA: Your employer has a certified Form ETA-9035/9035E from the DOL attesting it will pay at least the higher of the actual in-house wage or the local prevailing wage.
• Cap registration or exemption: Your employer either qualifies as cap-exempt or holds a valid selected electronic registration ($215 fee) for the fiscal year.
• Valid passport: The passport or travel document listed on your cap registration was valid and unexpired on the registration date and matches the document you will use to enter the United States.

Specialty occupation requirements: what the job must need

Under USCIS rules at 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), an H-1B specialty occupation is a job that requires both the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and the attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in a directly related specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States. Common fields listed by USCIS include architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts.

USCIS defines two phrases in this standard carefully. First, 'directly related' means there is a logical connection between the required degree (or its equivalent) and the duties of the position. Second, 'normally' means conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern that is usual, typical, common, or routine. Normally does not mean always. The offered position must also meet at least one of these four regulatory criteria:

• A U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in a directly related specific specialty, or its equivalent, is normally the minimum entry requirement for the particular occupation.
• A U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in a directly related specific specialty, or its equivalent, is normally required to perform job duties in parallel positions among similar organizations in the employer's industry in the United States.
• The employer, or the third party if you will be staffed to a third party, normally requires a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in a directly related specific specialty, or its equivalent, to perform the job duties of the position.
• The specific duties of the offered position are so specialized, complex, or unique that the knowledge required to perform them is normally associated with the attainment of a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in a directly related specific specialty, or its equivalent.

Worker qualifications: degree, equivalency and licensing

Once the job qualifies as a specialty occupation, you must show that you hold the credentials to perform it. Your employer must submit evidence of your educational background (with English translations when applicable) when Form I-129 is filed. According to USCIS, you must meet one of four worker criteria:

• Hold a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree required by the specialty occupation from an accredited college or university.
• Hold a foreign degree that is the equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree required by the specialty occupation from an accredited college or university.
• Hold an unrestricted state license, registration, or certification that authorizes you to fully practice the specialty occupation and be immediately engaged in that specialty in the state of intended employment.
• Have education, specialized training, and/or progressively responsible experience that is equivalent to the completion of a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree in the specialty occupation, and have recognition of expertise in the specialty through progressively responsible positions directly related to the specialty.

If you have completed all degree requirements by the time the petition is filed, you do not have to wait for the physical diploma. USCIS accepts a copy of your final transcript or a letter from the registrar (or the person in charge of educational records if there is no registrar) confirming you met all requirements. However, if your registration was selected under the 20,000 U.S. master's cap, you must have earned the qualifying U.S. master's or higher degree by the time Form I-129 is filed, or USCIS will deny or reject the petition.

If your occupation requires a state or local license to practice fully in the state of intended employment, you generally must hold that license before the H-1B petition is approved, rather than at the time of filing. If a license is required and proof is not included, USCIS will generally issue a Request for Evidence (RFE).

LCA requirements and prevailing wage levels

Before filing Form I-129 with USCIS, your employer must submit a Labor Condition Application (Form ETA-9035/9035E) electronically through the Department of Labor's Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system. The LCA cannot be submitted more than 6 months before the employment start date, and the DOL reviews it within 7 working days for completeness and obvious errors. Only employers with physical disabilities or a lack of internet access who receive prior approval from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) Administrator may file by mail.

Under DOL Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #62G and Fact Sheet #62, the LCA binds your employer to strict wage and workplace rules:

• Required wage rate: The employer must pay at least the higher of the actual wage (the in-house wage paid to other workers with similar experience and qualifications at that worksite, not an average across all workers) or the prevailing wage for the occupational classification in the geographic area of employment.
• Working conditions and benefits: The employer must provide working conditions that will not adversely affect other similarly employed workers and offer the same fringe benefits offered to similarly employed U.S. workers.
• No strike or lockout: There must be no strike or lockout in progress in the occupational classification at the place of employment.
• Notice to workers: Notice of the LCA filing must be given to the union bargaining representative or posted at the place of employment, and the employer must give you a copy of the certified LCA.
• Guaranteed minimum hours and pay start date: The employer must pay you for the guaranteed minimum hours reported on Form I-129 even if no work is provided (unless you are unavailable for non-work reasons such as voluntary time off). Guaranteed pay must begin when you enter employment, and no later than 30 days after you enter the U.S. to take the job, or 60 days after you are authorized to work if you are already in the U.S.
• Fee and expense protections: Your employer is prohibited from allowing or requiring you to pay the USCIS petition filing fee or any early cessation penalty, and must pay all work-related expenses.

H-1B cap, cap exemptions and the OEWS wage-weighted lottery

Congress limits new H-1B statuses or visas each fiscal year (starting October 1) to a 65,000 regular cap (with up to 6,800 set aside for H-1B1 nationals of Chile and Singapore, whose unused numbers roll into the next year's regular cap) plus 20,000 petitions for beneficiaries with a U.S. master's degree or higher. Petitions are exempt from the cap if filed for work at a U.S. institution of higher education, its related or affiliated nonprofit entities, a nonprofit research organization, a government research organization, or in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) before December 31, 2029.

For cap-subject roles, your employer must register you online through a USCIS organizational account and pay a non-refundable $215 registration fee per beneficiary during a window of at least 14 calendar days (for FY 2027, noon Eastern on March 4 through 5:00 p.m. Eastern on March 19, with selection notices by March 31 and petition filing starting April 1). Under the beneficiary-centric selection process, you are counted once toward the cap regardless of how many separate companies register you. In FY 2026, USCIS received 343,981 eligible registrations for approximately 339,000 unique beneficiaries (1.01 registrations per beneficiary) and selected 120,141 registrations, which by our calculation from the USCIS FY 2021-2026 registration table equaled 34.9% of eligible registrations.

Starting in FY 2027, when random selection is needed, USCIS weights each unique beneficiary in the selection pool by the highest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level that their proffered wage equals or exceeds for the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code in the area of intended employment. USCIS runs the regular cap selection first across all registrations (including U.S. master's qualifiers), then selects the 20,000 master's cap from the remaining eligible master's registrations.

What happens after selection: Form I-129, fees and beneficiary-owners

If selected, your employer has a designated 90-day filing window to submit Form I-129 online or on paper. Cap-subject petitions must list a start date of October 1 or later of that fiscal year, cannot be filed more than 6 months before the requested start date, and are rejected if they list 'ASAP'. The petition must match the selected registration and include the following items:

• The Beneficiary Confirmation Number and a copy of the H-1B Registration Selection Notice.
• Valid passport or travel document details matching the registration (or copies of both documents if renewed).
• The matching SOC code. A 6-digit SOC code on Form I-129 and the registration may align with an 8-digit detailed O*NET-SOC code on the LCA without a mismatch.
• Evidence of the OEWS wage level as of the registration date.
• Proof that a bona fide specialty occupation position exists as of the start date, without needing day-to-day assignments for the entire validity period.

For paper filings, USCIS no longer accepts personal or business checks, money orders, or cashier's checks unless the filer qualifies for an exemption using Form G-1651. Mail filings must be paid by credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450 (up to $24,999.99 per card per day by mail, or $99,999.99 per card per day for H-1B registrations and petitions submitted online) or by U.S. bank ACH withdrawal using Form G-1650.

If you own more than 50% of the petitioning company or hold majority voting rights, your company can sponsor you as a 'beneficiary owner' under the December 18, 2024 final rule. You must perform specialty occupation duties a majority of the time, though you may perform non-specialty duties directly related to owning and directing the company. USCIS limits your initial petition and first extension to up to 18 months each.

What the consular officer may ask at your H-1B stamping interview

When you attend your consular interview abroad, the officer checks that your answers match your Form I-129 petition, your certified LCA, and your visa application. Review our full breakdown of H-1B visa interview questions. Be ready to answer questions on these four core areas:

• Your job duties and specialty occupation fit: 'What will your day-to-day responsibilities be, and how does your degree relate to this role?' The officer is checking that your duties require a directly related bachelor's or higher degree and match the SOC code on your petition. Have your job description, diploma, and transcripts or equivalency evaluation ready.
• Your salary and worksite location: 'How much will you be paid, and what city and state will you work in?' The officer is verifying that your pay meets or exceeds the LCA required wage and OEWS wage level, and that your worksite matches the certified LCA. Know your exact annual salary and every worksite address listed on Form ETA-9035.
• Third-party or client-site placement: 'Will you work at your employer's office or at a client site?' Under the H-1B modernization rules, if you are staffed to a third party, USCIS looks at whether that third party normally requires a directly related specialty degree for the role. Know the end client's name, location, and project details.
• Company ownership if you are a founder: 'Do you hold an ownership stake in the petitioning company?' If you own more than 50% or have majority voting rights, be ready to explain how you spend the majority of your time on specialty occupation duties rather than general executive management, and note that your initial approval is valid for up to 18 months.

Visaful is an AI mock interview app for US visa interviews: an AI officer asks your visa's questions out loud and shows what to fix.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of State or any government agency.