About the H-1B Visa Program

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The H-1B visa allows U.S. employers to hire foreign professionals for “specialty occupations” that typically require a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Since its creation in 1990, the program has become essential for tech companies. It has also sparked debates about American jobs and wages.

The stakes grew in September 2025 when President Trump imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B applications.

What Makes a Job “Specialty”

The entire H-1B system revolves around the concept of a “specialty occupation.” The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has strict criteria for what qualifies.

A job must require “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge” and a bachelor’s degree in a specific field as the minimum entry requirement. Common fields include information technology, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, medicine, education, business, finance, and law.

USCIS requires jobs to meet at least one of four criteria:

A bachelor’s degree is normally required for the position. The degree requirement is standard across the industry. The employer typically requires a degree for this role. The job duties are so specialized that they usually require a bachelor’s degree or higher.

This standard creates constant friction. Critics argue companies exploit vague definitions to bring in workers for basic IT jobs at around $60,000 annually – well below average U.S. tech salaries. The government’s justification for the 2025 fee increase specifically targeted this concern, aiming to reserve the program for “great engineers” rather than “entry-level employees.”

Who Can Apply

Foreign workers, called “beneficiaries,” must meet specific qualifications. The primary requirement is holding a U.S. bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent in a field directly related to the job.

Having the right degree isn’t enough. The job itself must independently qualify as a specialty occupation. A computer science graduate couldn’t get an H-1B for a role that doesn’t actually require computer science expertise.

USCIS provides alternative pathways for those without traditional four-year degrees. Workers can qualify if they hold an unrestricted professional license in their field or have equivalent education, training, and experience that matches a U.S. bachelor’s degree, plus recognition of their expertise through progressively responsible positions.

Employer Responsibilities

The H-1B is an employer-sponsored visa. U.S. companies must file applications on behalf of foreign workers, and individuals generally cannot apply independently. This sponsorship comes with significant legal and financial obligations.

Wage Protection Rules

Before filing with USCIS, employers must submit a Labor Condition Application to the Department of Labor. They must pay H-1B workers the higher of two amounts:

The actual wage paid to similar employees at the company. The prevailing wage for similar positions in the local area.

This requirement aims to prevent companies from undercutting American worker wages by hiring cheaper foreign labor.

Protecting American Workers

Employers must certify that hiring H-1B workers won’t harm working conditions for similar American employees. They must confirm there’s no ongoing strike or labor dispute in the occupation at their workplace.

Companies must notify existing workers about their H-1B applications, either through union representatives or workplace postings.

“H-1B-dependent” employers – those with high proportions of H-1B workers – face stricter rules. They must prove they tried to recruit American workers first and haven’t displaced U.S. employees within 90 days of filing H-1B petitions.

Employers must pay all government filing fees and cannot require workers to reimburse them. If they terminate an H-1B worker before their authorized stay ends, they must pay for return transportation to the worker’s home country.

The Annual Numbers Game

The biggest hurdle for most H-1B applicants is the annual cap set by Congress. Each fiscal year, only 85,000 new H-1B visas are available:

65,000 visas for the regular cap, open to all eligible applicants with bachelor’s degrees. 20,000 additional visas for applicants with U.S. master’s degrees or higher.

Demand vastly exceeds supply. In fiscal year 2024, USCIS received 780,884 registrations for 85,000 available slots – roughly 1-in-9 odds.

This massive disparity requires a lottery. USCIS conducts a random, computerized selection process to determine which registered candidates can file full H-1B petitions. Winning the lottery doesn’t guarantee a visa – it only grants the opportunity to apply.

Universities, affiliated non-profits, and government research organizations are “cap-exempt.” They can file H-1B petitions year-round without entering the lottery. This allows academic and research institutions to hire international faculty and researchers based on their schedules rather than the fixed lottery cycle.

The Application Process

For cap-subject employers, the H-1B process follows a strict seasonal timeline spanning nearly a year.

Electronic Registration

The process begins in early March when employers submit online registrations for each prospective H-1B worker through the myUSCIS portal. This registration window typically lasts two to three weeks.

Lottery Selection

Shortly after registration closes, USCIS conducts the computerized lottery. By late March or early April, employers receive “Selected” or “Not Selected” notifications in their online accounts.

Labor Condition Application

For each selected registration, employers must file Form ETA-9035 with the Department of Labor. This critical step involves making legally binding wage and working condition commitments. Properly filed applications are typically certified within 7-10 business days.

USCIS Petition

Once the Labor Condition Application is certified, employers have a 90-day window starting April 1 to submit complete H-1B petition packages to USCIS. The core document is Form I-129, accompanied by the certified labor application and extensive supporting evidence proving job qualifications and worker credentials.

Government Review

USCIS officers review petitions and may approve them, deny them, or issue Requests for Evidence requiring additional information. RFEs can significantly delay the process.

Visa Stamping

Workers outside the United States when petitions are approved must apply for H-1B visas at U.S. embassies or consulates. This involves completing Form DS-160, paying visa fees, and attending in-person interviews. Consular officers have final authority to issue visa stamps required for U.S. entry.

Timeline and Costs

The entire process from employer preparation to final approval can take months to nearly a year without premium processing. Employers can pay additional fees for Premium Processing, requiring USCIS to take action within 15 calendar days.

Standard government filing fees before the 2025 policy changes ranged from approximately $1,700 to over $6,000, depending on company size and other factors. This included a $215 lottery registration fee and $780 for Form I-129, among others. These totals don’t include substantial legal fees many employers pay immigration attorneys.

H-1B status is typically granted for up to three years initially and can be extended for another three years, with a general six-year maximum. The visa is employer-specific – holders can only work for sponsoring companies. Changing jobs requires new employers to file fresh H-1B petitions. This lack of portability limits workers’ career mobility and bargaining power.

Who Gets H-1B Visas

Government statistics reveal stark demographic patterns in H-1B approvals.

Country Origins

Workers born in India dominate the program, receiving over 70% of all approved visas in recent fiscal years. In fiscal 2023, Indian nationals accounted for 73% of approvals. China ranks second with around 12%. Other top countries include the Philippines, Canada, and South Korea, but their shares are much smaller.

Education Levels

The educational profile of H-1B workers has trended upward. In 2021, 57% of approved H-1B workers held master’s degrees as their highest education level, up from 31% in 2000. Conversely, the share with only bachelor’s degrees fell from 57% to 34% over the same period.

The heavy concentration from India creates profound effects throughout the U.S. immigration system. H-1B visas serve as primary feeders for employment-based green cards granting permanent residency. However, U.S. law limits immigrants from any single nation to 7% of total employment-based green cards annually.

This creates a mathematical bottleneck: a group comprising over 70% of high-skilled applicants competes for maximum 7% of available green cards. The result is a green card backlog for Indian nationals measured in decades, trapping a generation in “permanent temporariness.”

Industry Usage Patterns

H-1B visa usage concentrates heavily in specific sectors and companies.

Technology’s Central Role

Computer-related occupations accounted for 65% of all H-1B approvals in fiscal 2023, with workers reporting a median annual salary of $123,600. Beyond core tech, major users include manufacturing, finance, education, retail, and healthcare employers.

Top Sponsoring Companies

The list of leading H-1B sponsors illustrates the program’s dual nature, dominated by both major U.S. technology firms hiring foreign talent directly and large IT consulting companies placing H-1B workers at third-party client sites.

This data highlights what one former USCIS official described as the program’s “split personality disorder” – the presence of both direct-hire innovators like Google and Apple alongside IT services firms like Tata and Cognizant.

The Great Debate

Few government programs inspire such polarized discussion as the H-1B visa. The central conflict revolves around whether it drives economic growth and innovation or harms American workers. Arguments are complex because both sides find supporting evidence depending on which part of the program they examine.

The Economic Arguments

Innovation Engine Perspective

Supporters, including technology companies and libertarian think tanks like the Cato Institute, argue H-1B workers fill critical skills gaps in the U.S. economy, particularly in STEM fields where domestic talent is insufficient. They contend these high-skilled immigrants complement rather than substitute for American workers, driving innovation, boosting productivity, and ultimately creating more jobs.

One study cited by proponents claimed that for every H-1B worker hired, 1.83 jobs are created for native-born Americans. Another analysis suggested H-1B worker presence correlates with lower unemployment rates and faster earnings growth for U.S. college graduates.

Wage Suppression Concerns

Opponents, including labor unions and immigration restrictionists, argue the program enables companies to hire cheaper foreign labor, suppressing wages and displacing qualified American workers. They point to high-profile cases where U.S. workers were laid off and allegedly forced to train their H-1B replacements as severance conditions.

Some academic research supports this view, finding that winning additional H-1B visas can lead to lower average employee earnings at firms and that H-1B workers substantially “crowd out” employment of other workers.

Worker Vulnerability

For H-1B holders themselves, the visa represents both significant opportunity and profound vulnerability. While it’s a crucial stepping stone toward U.S. careers and potentially permanent residency, the program structure creates power imbalances with employers.

Because visas are tied to specific sponsors, H-1B workers cannot easily change jobs, negotiate higher salaries, or leave difficult work environments without new employers filing costly, complex petitions. This lack of portability can leave workers feeling trapped – a situation critics describe as “indentured servitude.”

This dependency is magnified by decades-long green card backlogs facing Indian nationals, which can lock them into temporary, employer-dependent status for much of their professional lives.

Fraud and Abuse Allegations

Significant criticism targets the program’s susceptibility to fraud and abuse, particularly by IT outsourcing and staffing firms sometimes called “body shops.” These companies are accused of using the program to import foreign labor at scale, then contracting these workers to major U.S. corporations.

Critics argue this model isn’t about filling specific, high-level talent gaps at sponsoring companies but profiting from labor arbitrage – providing clients with IT workers at lower costs than hiring American workers directly.

The U.S. government has acknowledged these issues, with the White House stating that law enforcement has investigated H-1B-reliant outsourcing companies for visa fraud, money laundering, and other illicit activities. USCIS conducts both random and targeted site visits to H-1B employers to verify wages, job duties, and work locations.

The agency has also taken steps to combat lottery fraud, where some entities submitted multiple registrations for the same individuals to unfairly increase selection chances.

Trump’s $100,000 Bombshell

In September 2025, the H-1B program faced one of the most dramatic changes in its history. President Trump’s proclamation introduced a $100,000 fee that fundamentally shifted how the U.S. approaches high-skilled immigration regulation.

The New Policy Details

On September 19, 2025, Trump signed “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” requiring employers to make $100,000 payments with any new H-1B petition filed for workers outside the United States.

The announcement initially caused widespread confusion, with some early reports suggesting the fee would be annual. However, the White House and USCIS later clarified that the $100,000 is a one-time fee applying only to new petitions filed after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025.

The policy doesn’t apply to visa renewals or current H-1B holders, who can continue traveling in and out of the U.S. without employers facing the new fee.

The stated rationale was curbing “deliberate exploitation” of the program and ending the practice of replacing American workers with “lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.” The administration argued the fee would incentivize employers to use the program strictly for recruiting “best of the best” top-tier global talent rather than filling entry-level positions at discount rates.

Immediate Industry Chaos

The proclamation’s sudden announcement and effective date sent shockwaves through industries reliant on foreign talent. Companies with H-1B employees traveling abroad, including giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, issued urgent guidance advising immediate return to the U.S., fearing workers could be barred from re-entry unless new fees were paid.

Economists and business leaders warned of severe consequences, including potential “brain drain” as talent seeks opportunities in more welcoming countries, blows to U.S. innovation and competitiveness, and incentives for companies to move more jobs and operations offshore.

The policy’s use of a flat, high fee drew criticism for creating a “pay-to-play system” or “luxury work permit.” While large technology firms might absorb costs for critical hires, the fee could devastate smaller startups, non-profits, universities, and healthcare systems, effectively pricing them out of global talent markets regardless of needs or potential employee qualifications.

Legal Challenges Ahead

The proclamation met immediate predictions of legal challenges from business groups and immigration lawyers arguing the move represents significant presidential authority overreach.

The central legal question is whether the president can impose such substantial fees by executive proclamation. Critics argue this constitutes taxation – a power reserved exclusively for Congress, which has already established detailed H-1B fee structures in the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Legal experts contend such monumental policy changes should be subject to the Administrative Procedure Act, requiring formal rulemaking processes including public notice and comment periods. By implementing changes via proclamation with just over a day’s notice, the administration sidestepped established regulatory processes.

While the administration bases its authority on Section 212(f) of the INA, allowing presidents to suspend entry of non-citizens deemed “detrimental to U.S. interests,” challengers are expected to argue that conditioning entry on six-figure payments goes far beyond that statute’s intent.

The proclamation is expected to face lawsuits seeking immediate injunctions to block enforcement while courts determine its legality.

Global Implications

The H-1B changes have ripple effects extending far beyond Silicon Valley. India’s government expressed concerns about the impact on its technology workforce, given Indian nationals’ dominance in the program.

The policy shift could accelerate trends toward offshoring, as experts predict companies may find it more cost-effective to hire talent abroad rather than bring workers to the United States at such high costs.

Other countries are positioning themselves to benefit from potential American policy missteps. Canada, Australia, and European nations have streamlined their own high-skilled immigration programs, hoping to attract talent that might have previously chosen the United States.

The Path Forward

The H-1B program sits at a crossroads. The massive fee increase represents the most dramatic change since the program’s creation, but its ultimate impact depends on legal challenges, industry adaptation, and potential Congressional action.

Companies are already adjusting strategies. Some may absorb the costs for truly irreplaceable talent while reducing overall H-1B hiring. Others might accelerate remote work arrangements or international expansion plans. Smaller employers may exit the program entirely.

For workers, the changes create new uncertainties. Those already in the system face difficult decisions about career mobility and travel. Prospective applicants must weigh reduced odds against potentially higher-value opportunities with employers willing to pay premium fees.

The program’s future likely depends on broader immigration reform efforts and economic pressures. If skills shortages persist while the H-1B becomes prohibitively expensive, Congress may face pressure to address the dysfunction. Alternatively, the high fees might achieve their stated goal of reserving the program for truly specialized positions.

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