Most H-1Bs go through a yearly lottery — roughly a 1-in-4 chance.
Some employers are exempt from that cap by law. Working for one means no lottery, no annual limit, and you can file any month. That's every role below.
Employers exempt from the cap
Nonprofit and government research labs.
Accredited US institutions, public or private.
Hospitals and orgs tied to a qualifying school.
Every one of these can file your H-1B this month.
What everyone else competes for.
What you'll find on this page.
File before your OPT expires. No April gamble, no status gap.
Switch without touching your STEM extension. Save it for when you actually need it.
Transfer or stack a cap-exempt petition. Zero new lottery risk, no status gap.
Defined by INA §214(g)(5). Community college or Princeton — if the employer qualifies, the cap doesn't apply.
Nonprofit and government research orgs doing basic or applied research.
Accredited US colleges and universities. Public or private, undergrad or graduate.
Nonprofits formally affiliated with a qualifying institution.
Universities, hospitals, research orgs, affiliated nonprofits — one feed.
Apply on the employer's own site, often before LinkedIn picks it up.
See who's actually filed H-1Bs before. Skip the dead-end applications.
Beat the queue. Most cap-exempt offers go to early applicants.
When to apply, file, and transfer — so your work auth never lapses.
Month-to-month, no contracts. Most members land an offer in under 90 days.
Yes. Cap-exempt removes the lottery, not the H-1B requirements. You still need a US bachelor's (or equivalent) in a field related to the role.
Yes — and this is the killer move. Once you hold a cap-exempt H-1B, a for-profit employer can file a concurrent or change-of-employer petition that's still cap-exempt. You skip the lottery permanently.
Yes. Once your green-card process hits key milestones (PERM filed >365 days, or I-140 approved), you can extend beyond 6 years.
Almost always at qualifying universities, affiliated medical centers, or nonprofit research institutions. Get the employer's cap-exempt status confirmed in writing before relying on it.
On average, yes — university and nonprofit roles pay below FAANG. They still must meet DOL prevailing wage. Trade-off: a near-guaranteed visa vs. ~25% lottery odds. The math is usually obvious.
Yes. A cap-exempt employer can file a transfer any month — you keep H-1B status, no new lottery. You can later add concurrent H-1B work with a cap-subject employer without re-entering the lottery.