H-1B specialty occupation
The main professional work visa. Its defining feature is the annual cap: registrations far exceed the quota, so selection is by lottery and most registrations are not selected.
Who it is for. People with a degree-level job offer from a US employer willing to sponsor.
Worth knowing. Meeting every requirement does not get you the visa: the annual cap means selection is by random lottery, and in recent years registrations have run several times the number of available places. Cap-exempt employers — universities and affiliated non-profits among them — are outside the lottery.
- Income required
- Not stated
- Savings required
- Not stated
- Investment required
- None
- Application fee
- Not stated
- Processing time
- 90–365 days
- Permission lasts
- 36 months
- Permanent residence
- After 2 years
- Citizenship
- After 5 years
Renewable
Sources
Worth knowing. Meeting every requirement does not get you the visa: the annual cap means selection is by random lottery, and in recent years registrations have run several times the number of available places. Cap-exempt employers — universities and affiliated non-profits among them — are outside the lottery.
Check this against
- USCIS — status categories, forms and processing times (opens in a new tab)U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services · National immigration authority
- U.S. Visas — categories, interviews and reciprocity (opens in a new tab)U.S. Department of State — Bureau of Consular Affairs · Foreign ministry