The H-1B lottery explained

The yearly timeline

1. 01Registration period (usually March). Your employer creates an online account and submits a short electronic registration for you and pays a registration fee.
2. 02Selection. USCIS selects registrations and notifies employers, typically by the end of March. Additional rounds sometimes follow later in the year if not enough petitions are filed.
3. 03Petition filing (from April 1). Selected employers have at least 90 days to file the full H-1B petition, including the certified Labor Condition Application.
4. 04Start date (October 1). Approved cap workers can start in H-1B status on the first day of the US government's fiscal year.

How selection works

Since the 2025 fiscal year, selection has been beneficiary centric: each person is entered once, regardless of how many employers register them. This stopped the practice of submitting many registrations for one person. The master's cap is run after the general draw, which gives US master's graduates two chances.

Cap-exempt employers

Some employers are not subject to the cap and can file at any time of year:

• Universities and colleges
• Nonprofit organisations affiliated with universities, such as many teaching hospitals
• Nonprofit and government research organisations

Working for a cap-exempt employer is a solid route for researchers, doctors and academics. If you later move to a private company, you usually need to go through the lottery.

Students: OPT and cap-gap

International students on F-1 visas can work on Optional Practical Training (OPT) for 12 months after graduation. Graduates in eligible STEM fields can apply for a 24-month STEM extension, which gives up to three chances at the lottery. If your H-1B is selected and filed while your OPT is valid, the cap-gap extension can keep you in status until October 1.

If you are not selected

Many talented people are not selected in their first attempt. Options include:

• Staying on STEM OPT and trying again next year
• Joining a cap-exempt employer
• Other visas: O-1 for extraordinary ability, L-1 after a year at a multinational abroad, TN for Canadian and Mexican citizens in listed professions, E-3 for Australians
• Working for the same company in another country and transferring later

What it means day to day

H-1B status is tied to your employer. You can change employers through an H-1B transfer petition, and if you lose your job there is a 60-day grace period to find a new sponsor, change status or leave. Keep copies of your approval notices, pay slips and I-94 record, and never let your status lapse without advice.

This guide is general information for planning. Rules and prices change, so always confirm with the official source before you apply or sign anything.