Which employers can sponsor H-1B workers without the annual cap or lottery, and how cap exemption works.
The H-1B annual cap of 85,000 visas and the lottery system are the biggest bottlenecks in H-1B sponsorship. But certain employers are completely exempt from the cap and can sponsor H-1B workers year-round with no lottery requirement. Understanding cap exemption can open doors for both employers and workers who want to avoid the uncertainty of the lottery.
Cap-exempt employers are not subject to the annual H-1B visa limit of 65,000 regular slots plus 20,000 for U.S. advanced degree holders. They can file H-1B petitions at any time during the year, there is no registration or lottery requirement, and there is no limit on the number of H-1B workers they can sponsor. This makes cap-exempt employment highly attractive for foreign workers.
Three categories of employers qualify for cap exemption under INA § 214(g)(5):
The "related to or affiliated with" standard requires more than a loose connection. USCIS looks for formal affiliation agreements, shared governance or oversight, joint research programs, or financial support relationships. A hospital that is organizationally part of a university system typically qualifies. A private company that merely has a research contract with a university generally does not.
An H-1B worker's cap-exempt status is tied to the employer, not the worker. If a cap-exempt employee later moves to a cap-subject employer, they become subject to the cap and lottery — unless they have been previously counted against the cap within the last 6 years. Workers who have only held cap-exempt H-1B status would need to go through the lottery for a cap-subject position.
Beyond avoiding the lottery, cap-exempt employers benefit from year-round filing flexibility, faster hiring timelines since there is no need to wait for the October 1 start date, and the ability to sponsor workers regardless of how many H-1B petitions they file. For workers, cap-exempt positions offer certainty — no lottery risk and no waiting for annual filing windows.
Not all nonprofits are cap-exempt — only those with qualifying research missions or higher education affiliations. Not all hospital employees are cap-exempt — the hospital itself must qualify as an affiliated entity. Government agencies are only cap-exempt if they are government research organizations, not simply any government employer. And working at a university as a contractor through a staffing agency does not confer cap exemption — the petitioning employer must itself be cap-exempt.
Search thousands of verified H-1B sponsors by company, industry, and location.
Search H-1B Sponsors on Wisa →No. Only nonprofit organizations that are either related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education, or whose primary mission is conducting research, are cap-exempt. A nonprofit charity, advocacy group, or social services organization without these specific connections is subject to the regular H-1B cap and lottery.
Yes, through concurrent employment. A worker can hold cap-exempt H-1B status with a university and also work part-time for a cap-subject employer without being subject to the cap for that concurrent role. However, if the worker leaves the cap-exempt position entirely, the cap-subject employment would require the worker to be counted against the cap.
No. There is no numerical limit on cap-exempt H-1B petitions. A large research university can sponsor hundreds or even thousands of H-1B workers. The only limitation is the employer's ability to demonstrate legitimate specialty occupation positions and ability to pay the prevailing wage for each worker.
Yes. Cap exemption only waives the numerical cap and lottery requirement. All other H-1B requirements apply equally: the position must qualify as a specialty occupation, the worker must have the required degree or equivalent, the employer must file an LCA and pay the prevailing wage, and the petition must be properly documented.