H-1B Visa Lawyer: Cap, Lottery, and Employer Sponsorship

If you are trying to hire a professional on an H-1B visa, or you are a worker hoping to stay in the United States, the rules in late 2025 are more complicated and expensive than they used to be. There is an annual cap and lottery, higher registration and filing fees, a new $100,000 proclamation fee in many new cases, and expanded social media vetting at U.S. consulates.

A focused H-1B visa lawyer helps employers and workers plan for the cap season, keep petitions compliant, and build backup options if the lottery or a consular officer says no. For many employers, H-1B is just one part of a long-term hiring plan that connects to PERM and other employment-based options, which we also discuss in our business immigration attorney guide.

H-1B basics: who qualifies and what does this status mean

The H-1B category is for “specialty occupations” – jobs that normally require at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific field and specialized knowledge. Typical examples include software engineers, financial analysts, architects, many healthcare roles, and university or research positions. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) describes these requirements in its H-1B specialty occupation guidance.

Key points to keep in mind:

Employer-sponsored: A U.S. employer must offer the job and file the petition. You cannot self-petition for H-1B.
Time-limited but extendable: Initial approval is usually up to three years and can often be extended to a total of six, with extra time available in some green-card cases.
Wage protections: The employer has to pay at least the required wage for that job in that location and follow Department of Labor rules on posting, records, and working conditions.

H-1B is also a “dual-intent” category, so many workers use it as a bridge toward an employment-based green card. That is one reason strategy and timing matter so much.

The H-1B cap and the master’s cap

Most private-sector employers are subject to a yearly numerical limit on new H-1B approvals:

65,000 numbers in the regular cap; and
20,000 additional numbers for people with a qualifying U.S. master’s or higher degree (the “master’s cap”).

If USCIS receives more demand than there are numbers, it runs a lottery to decide which registrations can move forward. The agency explains the basic framework each year on its H-1B cap season page.

Some employers are cap-exempt, including many universities, certain nonprofit research organizations, and some affiliated entities. Cap-exempt cases can often be filed at any time of year. One of the first things a good H-1B visa lawyer will check is whether the role can qualify for cap-exempt treatment or use prior H-1B time so you do not have to rely entirely on the lottery.

Registration and the lottery after the $215 fee hike

For cap-subject employers, the process now begins with a short online registration, not a full petition. Each spring, USCIS opens a registration window and, if needed, runs the lottery on those registrations.

Important recent changes include:

Electronic registration through a USCIS account. The employer (or its attorney) submits a separate online registration for each worker during the official window. The details must match passports and degrees exactly. USCIS describes the mechanics in its H-1B electronic registration process.
Higher registration fee. Starting with the FY 2026 cap season, the H-1B registration fee has risen from $10 to $215 per beneficiary. USCIS alerts make clear that this fee is non-refundable and must be paid for each person an employer wants to enter in the lottery.
Beneficiary-centric selection. USCIS now runs the lottery on unique people, not on the number of registrations filed. If several unrelated employers register the same person correctly, that person still gets only one “slot” in the draw, and any selected slot can then be used by one of the registering employers.

If a registration is selected, the employer has a limited filing window (often up to 90 days) to submit a complete H-1B petition with all forms, evidence, and fees. Missing that window usually means losing the spot. An H-1B visa lawyer helps employers plan this timeline so that Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), signatures, and supporting documents are ready in time.

What H-1B employer sponsorship really involves

Being an H-1B “sponsor” is not just signing a letter. A compliant employer has concrete duties, including:

Defining a qualifying role and salary. The job duties must line up with a specialty occupation, and the salary must meet or exceed applicable wage requirements. Poorly drafted job descriptions are a common trigger for USCIS questions or Requests for Evidence.
Labor Condition Application (LCA). Before USCIS will even look at the petition, the employer must file an LCA and get it certified by the Department of Labor. The LCA covers wage level, work locations, and certain working-conditions promises, and the employer must keep a public access file and other records in case of audit.
USCIS petition and fees. The core petition is Form I-129 with the H supplement, supported by the certified LCA, the worker’s degrees and evaluations, and company documents. In addition to the base filing fee, most employers also pay a training fee, a fraud-prevention fee, and (for many I-129 filings from 2024 onward) an extra asylum program fee that helps fund the asylum system.
Ongoing compliance after approval. Major changes – like moving the worker to a different metro area, significantly changing job duties, or cutting hours, may require a new LCA and an amended H-1B petition. A business immigration attorney can help set up internal procedures so HR wouldn’t create compliance problems.

The $100,000 proclamation fee for new H-1B cases

On September 19, 2025, a presidential proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” created a major new requirement for many H-1B visa cases. Under this proclamation and the follow-up guidance from USCIS and the Department of Labor, some new H-1B petitions filed on, or after September 21, 2025, require an additional $100,000 government payment before the worker can receive an H-1B visa and enter the United States.

In simplified terms:

The extra payment generally targets new H-1B petitions for workers who are outside the United States and will need a visa to enter.
Many amendments, extensions, and approved changes of status for workers already in the United States do not require this $100,000 payment, although they still must meet all normal fee and eligibility rules.
Agencies can grant narrow national-interest exceptions, but the official guidance describes these as “extraordinarily rare” and they are being applied very strictly so far.
Multiple lawsuits are challenging the legality of the proclamation and the way it has been implemented, so employers should expect the details to keep evolving.

The Department of Labor summarizes these restrictions and the $100,000 requirement on its H-1B program page, and both USCIS and the State Department have published FAQs and updates explaining how the fee applies in practice. Because the financial impact is so large, an H-1B visa lawyer now has to help employers decide not only whether a case qualifies, but also if it is realistic to proceed at all under the current fee structure.

Consular processing and expanded social-media vetting

Even with an approved petition, many H-1B workers still need a visa stamp from a U.S. consulate abroad. As of December 15, 2025, that step is becoming more complex.

The State Department has announced that all H-1B applicants and their H-4 dependents will undergo an online-presence review during visa processing. Applicants are instructed to adjust privacy settings so consular officers can review social-media profiles and other online information. At the same time, some consulates have cancelled or rescheduled H-1B and H-4 appointments from late 2025 into early 2026 to make room for this additional screening. The official notice is posted in the State Department’s announcement on expanded screening and vetting for H-1B and H-4 applicants.

In practice, this means a lawyer will now help you:

Make sure your résumé, petition, and LinkedIn-style profiles are consistent;
Understand how past posts, political commentary, or content-moderation work could lead to extra questions; and
Build realistic travel plans that allow for possible administrative processing or 221(g) delays.

For families, these changes also interact with work authorization and timing for H-4 spouses and other dependents, so it is important to discuss how an H-1B case will affect your spouse’s ability to work.

How does an H-1B visa lawyer help?

In this environment, an experienced H-1B visa lawyer does more than filing documents. Common ways they add value include:

Up-front eligibility and strategy. Confirming that the role qualifies as a specialty occupation, that the worker’s education and experience fit, and that H-1B is actually the best category compared to options like L-1, O-1, TN, or a direct employment-based green card.
Cap-season planning. Building a registration plan months before the window opens, coordinating LCAs, and making sure internal stakeholders know which candidates are realistic to sponsor.
Budgeting and risk management. Estimating the true cost of each H-1B case, including the higher registration fee, increased USCIS filing fees, the asylum program fee, and, where applicable, the new $100,000 proclamation payment. Helping employers decide which roles are strategically important enough to justify those costs.
Compliance and audits. Setting up systems for tracking wages, locations, LCAs, and public access files, and preparing for potential Department of Labor or USCIS audits.
Protecting the worker’s status and future options. Handling layoffs, job changes, or travel so that the worker stays in status and has realistic backup options. In harder situations – for example, if a denial or status gap could lead to removal proceedings – this overlaps with the work described in our deportation immigration lawyer guide.

If you are not selected in the H-1B lottery

Even in ordinary years, many more people register than there are cap numbers. A lottery rejection does not have to be the end of the road. Depending on the case, an H-1B visa lawyer may look at:

Cap-exempt H-1B roles with qualifying universities or nonprofit research organizations;
Extending or changing a different status (for example, maximizing F-1/OPT and cap-gap options, or shifting to J-1, O-1, or another category);
Intra-company transfers (L-1), NAFTA/USMCA options (TN for Canadians and Mexicans), or treaty-based options such as E-2 where available;
Remote or hybrid arrangements where the worker lives abroad but still supports the U.S. business while waiting for a better path.

The right answer depends on the worker’s education, job history, nationality, family situation, and the employer’s risk tolerance and budget in light of the new fees and vetting rules.

Conclusion

The H-1B program has always required careful planning, but late 2025 adds several new layers: higher registration and petition fees, a $100,000 proclamation payment in many new cases filed for workers abroad, and expanded digital vetting that can delay or derail visa stamping for H-1B professionals and their families.

A knowledgeable H-1B visa lawyer helps employers and workers decide whether the H-1B path still makes sense, structure a cap-season strategy that fits the company’s budget, keep the petition compliant from LCA to consular interview, and protect long-term options if the law changes again. With the right planning, H-1B can still be a valuable bridge between talent and opportunity – but it is no longer a process most employers or workers should try to handle alone.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information, not legal advice. Immigration rules and procedures change. Always rely on current instructions from USCIS and the U.S. Department of State (linked above) and consult a qualified attorney about your specific situation.