ALERT: The Trump administration issued a travel ban against various countries on June 4, 2025. Be sure to check for updates before traveling outside the United States or when applying for a visa at the U.S. consulate while abroad.
The H-1B visa category is a useful one for many U.S. employers, allowing them to hire noncitizens to work in the United States in either:
Most H-1B employers and workers fall into the "specialty occupation" category, meaning the usual job requirement includes a U.S. bachelor's degree or the equivalent in a specific field and where the foreign national employee has a relevant degree or the equivalent. Examples of jobs that qualify include accountants, engineers, information technology professionals, pharmacists, scientists, and teachers. For additional examples, see Types of Jobs Most Likely to Qualify for an H-1B Visa.
If the H-1B sounds like a useful one for your company or business to explore in its hiring plans, keep reading for basic procedures.
U.S. immigration law sets a cap of 85,000 H-1B visas for first-time H-1B visa applicants each federal fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. See H-1B Visa to the U.S.: Who Qualifies? for information on the H-1B cap and how it affects when you can file an H-1B petition. Not all employers or jobs are subject to this cap, but for the many who are affected, it creates various complications in the application process, as discussed more below.
The U.S. employer must take several preliminary steps before putting an H-1B worker on the payroll. In brief, they are:
For a fuller explanation of these steps, see How Long It Takes to Get an H-1B Visa Petition Approved.
There are different scenarios for when the new H-1B employee may start working, depending upon whether the person is in the United States or coming from abroad.
Someone who is already in the United States working for another employer in H-1B status might be authorized to start working for the new employer once it has received USCIS Form I-797 Notice of Action to confirm that the I-129 petition is pending a decision. In other cases, the employer might need to wait for USCIS to actually approve the I-129 petition before the new employee begins working.
A prospective employee who is outside the United States will need to take the approval notice (also issued on USCIS Form I-797 Notice of Action) and a copy of the H-1B petition submitted to USCIS to the U.S. Consulate or Embassy in their home country to apply for and receive an H-1B visa.
The visa application process and timing can vary slightly among different consulates and embassies. To check the relevant protocol, select the appropriate location at https://www.usembassy.gov/.
After having received the H-1B visa, the worker may travel to the United States and start the job. At that point, you'll probably want to learn about What Files Must Employer Keep Regarding H-1B Workers? and How Long an H-1B Worker Can Stay in the United States.
This information is intended merely as an introduction to the H-1B visa. See the additional articles referenced above and consult immigration counsel for further guidance on eligibility, application procedures, assistance with the paperwork, and more.