H-1B visa

Department of Homeland Security data cited in 2025 indicate that more than 20,000 educators were in the United States on H-1B visas, making education the third-most common occupation group in the H-1B program.

H-1B visas are longer-term work visas that commonly allow foreign workers, including teachers, to remain in U.S. positions for initial periods around three years with extensions typically available up to six years.

The H-1B visa is a U.S. nonimmigrant visa category for skilled workers employed in specialty occupations.

The J-1 visa is a U.S. short-term cultural exchange visa that generally does not provide a direct pathway to permanent residency, whereas the H-1B visa can be used by employers as a pathway toward permanent residency.

Big technology companies are the largest users of the H-1B visa program, and nearly three-quarters of approved H-1B visa holders are from India.

Nearly three-quarters of approved H-1B beneficiaries are citizens of India, and large technology companies are the largest users of the H-1B program.

The H-1B visa program was created by the U.S. Congress in 1990 to attract foreign workers in technical fields such as engineering.

H-1B visas have been widely used by large U.S. technology companies to hire programmers and other technology specialists from abroad.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented a policy that applications for H-1B visas filed on or after Sept. 21 for workers outside the United States who are not current H-1B visa holders are subject to a $100,000 fee.

USCIS requires that the $100,000 H-1B fee be paid prior to applying for an H-1B visa.

The $100,000 H-1B fee does not apply when an applicant files to change status from one nonimmigrant visa category to another, for example from an F-1 student visa to H-1B status.

The H-1B visa is a common U.S. immigration pathway used to hire highly skilled foreign workers, including medical professionals.

There is no federal health insurance mandate requiring coverage for nonimmigrant work visa holders such as H-1B visa holders in the United States; health coverage typically depends on the employer or the individual.