United States — work
United States — US H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa
Guide last reviewed: . Check the linked official guidance for current rules and application availability.
Requirements we check
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2 more requirements for US H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa
- ✓See every requirement this route actually checks
- ✓Find out which ones you already meet
- ✓Get your single highest-impact next action
The full guide
H-1B is a real, genuine specialty-occupation work visa, but it is not a merit-based route in the usual sense — a US employer must sponsor you, and if demand exceeds the annual 85,000 cap (it almost always does), selection is by lottery, so even a fully qualified applicant can simply not be drawn. As of 21 September 2025, there's also a major new cost: a $100,000 supplemental fee applies to new H-1B petitions filed for a beneficiary who is outside the US at filing time — exactly the position most applicants from Africa would be in — which has made many US employers newly reluctant to sponsor someone abroad from scratch.
Cost: $215 registration fee
The full guide is locked
See exactly what US H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa requires
- ✓Every document you'll need, with what assessors actually look for
- ✓The real stage-by-stage process, with fees and processing times
- ✓Common pitfalls that actually cause refusals for this route
- ✓See if YOU qualify — your real fit score, not a generic checklist
This is everything your application involves. Start a plan to get it done.
Check my own fitTurn your research into a relocation plan
Use these free resources alongside the official instructions for your chosen route.
- Relocation planning guide
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- Visa document checklist and evidence tracker
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- Relocation budget calculator
Use your own cost estimates to calculate your budget, savings gap and monthly target.
Pasage provides immigration pathway information and preparation help based on official public criteria. We are not immigration lawyers, regulated advisers, or agents, and we do not guarantee any visa outcome. Rules and thresholds change — always confirm against the official source linked above before you apply.