H-1B Visa Timeline: From Job Offer to Start Date in 11 Months (2026 Walkthrough)

The H-1B visa timeline runs about 11 months from a job offer to a start date: employers register candidates in March, USCIS runs the lottery by the end of March, selected petitions are filed between April 1 and June 30, and work starts on October 1. The process is governed by strict deadlines and a lottery that adds uncertainty to every step, so understanding the timeline is critical for planning your job search, negotiating offers and making decisions about your career. This guide breaks down the H-1B timeline month by month, from the initial job search through visa activation.

The H-1B calendar, month by month

July to September (the year before)

What to do: Begin your job search in earnest. Companies that plan to sponsor H-1B workers for the upcoming fiscal year typically start identifying candidates 6 to 9 months before the March registration window, so this is the best time to start applying to H-1B-sponsoring companies.

Action items: Research sponsoring companies with the H-1B sponsors list, set up job alerts with Scoutify for your target companies, update your resume, and begin applying to H-1B visa sponsorship jobs.

October to December

What to do: Continue interviewing and pursuing offers. Companies making H-1B decisions need to complete their hiring process during this window, and if you receive an offer, you should confirm that the company will register you for the H-1B lottery.

Key question to ask:"Does this offer include H-1B sponsorship, and when will the company register me for the lottery?"

January to February

What to do:Finalize your employment situation. Companies are making final decisions about which candidates to register for the H-1B lottery, and if you have an offer with sponsorship, the company's immigration team will begin preparing your registration.

March (H-1B registration period)

What happens: USCIS opens the electronic registration system, and employers submit basic information about each candidate. The fee is $215 per registration for the FY 2027 cap, according to the USCIS registration page (last updated September 21, 2026), up from $10 in earlier years. The registration period typically runs for about two to three weeks.

Late March (lottery results)

What happens:USCIS runs the lottery and notifies registrants of the results; for FY 2027 it finished selection by March 31, 2026. The regular cap is 65,000, plus 20,000 additional slots for holders of U.S. master's degrees. In recent years the selection rate has been roughly 25 to 30% because of high demand: USCIS selected 188,400 of 758,994 eligible registrations for FY 2024 (about 25%), 135,137 of 470,342 for FY 2025 (about 29%), and 120,141 of 343,981 for FY 2026 (about 35%). Starting with FY 2027, selection is weighted by wage level, so a registration gets one to four entries depending on the prevailing wage level of the offered salary.

If selected: Your employer can file the full H-1B petition.

If not selected: You can try again the following year or explore alternatives, such as a STEM OPT extension, an O-1, an L-1 or a cap-exempt employer.

April to September (petition filing)

What happens: For selected candidates, the employer files the full H-1B petition with supporting documentation; for FY 2027, the filing window ran from April 1 to June 30, 2026. Processing times vary:

• Premium processing costs $2,965 for petitions postmarked on or after March 1, 2026 (it was $2,805 before), under a January 12, 2026 rule, and USCIS commits to acting within 15 business days.
• Regular processing can take 3 to 6 months, and sometimes longer.

October 1 (start date)

What happens:This is the earliest date an H-1B worker can begin employment under the new fiscal year's cap. If your petition is approved, you can start working on or after this date.

Common complications

• RFE (Request for Evidence): USCIS may ask for additional documentation, which adds weeks to months of delay.
• Multiple registrations: USCIS has put measures in place to stop employers from registering the same beneficiary several times to game the lottery, and selection is now counted per unique beneficiary.
• Cap gap: If you are on OPT and your H-1B petition is pending, your status and work authorization are extended automatically, and under a rule that took effect on January 17, 2025, the extension can run until April 1 of the fiscal year instead of ending on September 30.
• The $100,000 payment: A September 2025 proclamation added a $100,000 payment for certain new petitions for workers outside the United States, but USCIS says it does not apply to changes of status inside the country, and a federal court vacated the policy on June 8, 2026; the sponsors list FAQ has the current status and sources.

Cap-exempt timeline

If you work for a cap-exempt employer (universities, nonprofit research organizations and government research organizations), the timeline is simpler:

• There is no lottery, so petitions can be filed at any time of year.
• There is no cap on the number of visas.
• Standard processing times apply, and premium processing is available for faster results.

What if you are not selected?

• STEM OPT extension: If you have a STEM degree and are on OPT, you can apply for a 24-month extension, which gives you up to 3 total years of work authorization.
• Try again next year: You can re-enter the lottery annually, and each year is an independent draw.
• O-1 visa: This visa is for individuals with extraordinary ability, and it has no cap and no lottery, but the evidence standard is higher.
• Transfer to a cap-exempt employer: You can work at a university or research institution to get an H-1B without the lottery and move to a for-profit employer later, although the move to a cap-subject employer may require cap selection.

Bottom line

The H-1B timeline requires planning 6 to 12 months in advance. Start your job search in the third or fourth quarter of the year before you need the visa, target companies with strong sponsorship histories, and apply as soon as positions open. The combination of early preparation, multiple applications and real-time job alerts from tools like Scoutify gives you the best chance of getting through the H-1B process successfully, and if you want the applications sent for you, you can auto-apply with a visa sponsorship filter on Sniper, which applies minutes after a matching job posts. The H-1B job search guide turns this calendar into a step-by-step plan, and the visa sponsorship auto-apply playbook covers applying before your OPT runs out.