H-1B Visa: Lottery in March, Start Date No Earlier Than October 1

The H-1B is the best-known US work visa, and it is rarely the right choice when a European company wants to send an employee to the US. It requires an American employer, a winning ticket in a lottery held in March, and a start date no earlier than October 1.

The H-1B is a visa for skilled professionals in occupations that require a university degree, and it is tied to an American employer. For graduates who have found a job in the US, it is often the obvious route. For a company in Europe that wants to send one of its own employees to its US subsidiary for a few years, it is usually the most cumbersome. Our article The H-1B Visa explains the basics.

1What the H-1B is and who files for it

The H-1B is a temporary work visa for a job in a so-called specialty occupation: a profession that demands highly specialized knowledge and for which a bachelor's degree in a specific field is the minimum requirement in the US.

The petitioner is never the professional but always the employer. The regulation requires a US employer: a company with a genuine job offer for work in the US, a legal presence in the country and an IRS tax ID. Before filing the petition on Form I-129 with USCIS, the immigration agency, the employer needs a Labor Condition Application certified by the Department of Labor. In it, the employer promises, among other things, to pay at least the wage it pays comparable employees, or the higher prevailing wage for the position in that area.

For an assignment, this means the company in Europe cannot file for an H-1B. There has to be a US company that hires and pays the employee. If you still need to set one up, you will find the steps on our US Corporation page.

2Requirements for the position and the person

USCIS reviews two things separately: the position and the person.

The position must meet at least one of four criteria. A bachelor's degree in a specific field is normally the minimum requirement for the occupation; or it is common for similar positions in the industry; or the employer normally requires it for this position; or the duties are so specialized and complex that the knowledge needed is usually associated with such a degree. The degree must be logically related to the duties.

The person must have one of the following: a US bachelor's degree or higher in the field, an equivalent foreign degree, an unrestricted professional license from the state where they will work, or a combination of education, training and work experience that is equivalent to such a degree and comes with recognized expertise. If you studied in Europe, you have to show that your degree is equivalent to a US bachelor's. If the occupation requires a license, it must be in place before approval.

Owners face a special rule: if the professional owns more than half of the employer, the initial petition and the first extension are each approved for no more than 18 months. The professional may then also take on management duties, but must work mainly in their specialty occupation.

3Cap, registration and the weighted lottery

By law, new H-1Bs are capped at 65,000 per fiscal year. Another 20,000 are available for people with a master's degree or higher from a US university. Positions at universities, their affiliated nonprofits and nonprofit or government research organizations are exempt from the cap. Anyone already counted against the cap in the last six years is generally not counted again.

For everyone else, it's register first, then hope. The employer registers each person electronically, pays $215 and states which of the four wage levels the offered salary reaches for the occupation and work location. If there are more registrations than slots, USCIS runs a lottery. Since fiscal year 2027, the lottery has been weighted: a Level IV registration goes into the pool four times, Level III three times, Level II twice and Level I once. Each person still counts only once, no matter how many times they appear in the pool.

The proclamation of September 18, 2026 uses government figures to show the effect: for fiscal year 2027, about 46.3 percent of selections went to the two highest wage levels and 17.8 percent to the lowest. The share of registrants with a US master's degree rose from 45.1 percent in fiscal year 2026 to 66.1 percent in fiscal year 2027. The table shows how many eligible registrations came in during previous years and how many were selected.

4The timeline for a cap-subject H-1B

A cap-subject H-1B follows a fixed annual cycle. Registration is open for at least 14 calendar days; for fiscal year 2027 it ran from March 4 to March 19, 2026. USCIS aimed to notify those selected by March 31. From April 1 they could file their petition, no more than six months before the requested start date, and for cap-subject positions that date is October 1 at the earliest, the start of the fiscal year.

When planning an assignment, this means at least seven months pass between registration and the first working day in the US. If you are not selected in March, you cannot register again until March of the following year. A project that starts in the summer cannot be staffed with a cap-subject H-1B. Premium processing only speeds up the decision on the petition, not the lottery and not October 1. The H-1B Costs and Fees page shows what each step costs.

5Entry from abroad: the proclamation

In the typical assignment scenario, there is another hurdle. Proclamation 10973 of September 19, 2025, extended by Proclamation 11069 of September 18, 2026 until September 21, 2027, restricts the entry of H-1B workers whose petition is not accompanied by a payment of $100,000. USCIS applies it to petitions for people who are outside the US and do not hold a valid H-1B visa, and to petitions requesting consular notification. Anyone already in the US who is granted a change of status is not affected.

On June 8, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts set aside the instructions the agency had used to implement the payment. On July 24, 2026, the court of appeals declined to stay that decision pending appeal. USCIS says it is complying with the ruling and plans to require the payment again if the decision is overturned. There is also a proposed rule dated August 25, 2026, which would require $103,265 for every cap-subject petition. The fees page covers the details and the current legal status, and our article on the extended proclamation tells the story of the dispute.

6Duration, dual intent and family

The H-1B is granted for up to three years and can be extended by up to three more, six years in total. Time previously spent in the US on an L visa also counts toward those six years. Once you reach the maximum, you must live outside the US for a year before a new H or L is possible. Going beyond six years is only possible if a green card process is far enough along, for example an approved I-140 petition for which no visa number is available yet.

The H-1B allows dual intent: a green card petition or an approved labor certification is no reason to deny the H-1B, an extension or entry. The professional may come temporarily and pursue permanent residence at the same time.

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 come in H-4 status. The spouse, however, cannot simply work: a work permit is only available once an I-140 green card petition has been approved for the professional, or their stay has been extended beyond six years under AC21. For dual-career families, this is often where the H-1B falls apart.

If the employment ends, the professional has up to 60 consecutive days, but no longer than their authorized stay, to find a new job, change status or leave the country. A proposed rule of September 11, 2026 would abolish this grace period; it has not been adopted. If the employer ends the employment early, it must cover the reasonable cost of return transportation.

7Why the H-1B rarely suits an assignment

The reasons follow from the rules themselves; they are not a matter of individual circumstances.

• The employer changes. With the H-1B, the US company is the employer and pays the salary under the Labor Condition Application. Whether the employee stays in the social security system at home has to be checked separately. You'll find the details on the Secondment to the USA: tax and salary page.
• The lottery decides. No company can promise that a particular employee will go to America in a particular year. In fiscal years 2023 to 2025, not even one in three eligible registrations was selected.
• The calendar is fixed. Registration in March, work starts no earlier than October 1.
• Entering from abroad is exactly the case the proclamation targets. Anyone coming from Europe on a new visa is affected by the $100,000 payment as soon as it is required again.
• The family loses an income. A spouse on an H-4 is generally not allowed to work in the first years.

The L-1 has none of these problems. It requires one continuous year of employment with the company abroad within the three years before entry, has no cap, can be filed at any time, and a spouse on an L-2 may work on that status. How the L-1 works is explained on the L-1 visa page; for a direct comparison of the two visas, read L-1 or H-1B for employees?.

8When the H-1B is still the right route

In some cases the H-1B is the better choice, or the only one:

• A new hire, not a transfer. If the person hasn't already worked for the company for a year, the L-1 isn't an option. The US subsidiary then hires directly, and the H-1B is the standard route for a degree-holding professional.
• Cap-exempt employers. Universities, their affiliated nonprofits and research organizations need no registration and no lottery, and can file all year round.
• The person is already in the USA. If someone is already in the country in another status, for example after studying, and changes to H-1B there, the proclamation does not apply to them if USCIS approves the change. A US master's degree also opens up the special cap of 20,000 places.
• Not yet a year with the company. Patience is often the better plan here: after twelve months of employment with the company in Europe, the L-1 becomes available, with no lottery and no fixed start date.

Entrepreneurs who make the investment themselves rather than being transferred come to America on the E-2, and outstanding professionals on the O-1. The article Which visa for a transfer? compares which visas can be used for a transfer in the first place.

In short

• The H-1B is filed by a US employer for a position that requires a bachelor's degree in a specific field or the equivalent.
• New cap positions need a registration in March and a lottery win; since fiscal year 2027, higher wage levels count more than once. Work starts no earlier than October 1.
• The H-1B lasts up to six years, allows dual intent, and spouses on an H-4 may work only in certain cases.
• For people outside the USA, the proclamation requires $100,000; a federal court has set aside its implementation by USCIS.
• Anyone who has worked for the company for a year gets to the US subsidiary faster on the L-1, with no lottery.

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