How many H-1B visas are issued each year?

By Pinal Dave | Last updated: August 5, 2026

TL;DR: USCIS runs a lottery for 65,000 new H-1B visas under the regular cap plus 20,000 more reserved for people with a US master's degree or higher, for a total of 85,000 new cap-subject H-1Bs a year. That number doesn't count cap-exempt employers (universities, nonprofits, government research) or renewals, so the real total of people working on H-1B status each year is far higher.

The evidence

INA 214(g) sets the annual numerical limitation, and USCIS confirms the split every cap season:

Category	Annual allocation
Regular (bachelor's degree) cap	65,000
US master's/advanced degree exemption	20,000
Total new cap-subject H-1Bs	85,000
Cap-exempt petitions (universities, nonprofits, government research, affiliated entities)	Uncapped
Extensions and transfers for existing H-1B holders	Uncapped, not counted against the 85,000

Because 85,000 only covers new cap-subject petitions, and extensions/transfers/cap-exempt hires aren't counted, the total number of people actually working on H-1B status in the US each year — including renewals — runs well into the hundreds of thousands.

Step-by-step: how the numbers play out each cap season

Employers submit electronic registrations during the registration window (typically March) for each candidate they want to sponsor.
USCIS runs a random lottery if registrations exceed the cap — which they have every year since FY2014.
Master's cap selections happen first in a separate pool of 20,000; unselected master's-degree registrations then flow into the 65,000 regular-cap pool for a second chance.
Selected registrants file the full I-129 petition within the filing window USCIS opens after selection.
If the cap isn't reached in the first lottery round, USCIS can run additional selection rounds later in the fiscal year — this happened for FY2027.

FAQ

Is the H-1B cap 65,000 or 85,000? Both numbers are correct for different things: 65,000 is the regular cap, and 85,000 is the total after adding the 20,000 US master's degree exemption.

Do H-1B extensions count against the 85,000 cap? No. The cap only applies to new cap-subject petitions. Extensions, transfers between employers, and amendments for people who've already been counted don't use up cap numbers again.

Which employers are exempt from the H-1B cap entirely? Institutions of higher education, nonprofit entities affiliated with a university, and nonprofit or government research organizations can sponsor H-1B workers without going through the lottery at all.