H-1B Visa for UK Professionals and Employers

The H-1B is a temporary U.S. work visa used primarily for professionals working in a specialty occupation.

A specialty occupation is a position that requires the theoretical and practical application of highly specialised knowledge and normally requires at least a U.S. bachelor’s degree or higher, or its equivalent, in a directly related specific specialty as the minimum qualification for entry into the occupation.

Current USCIS rules allow more than one degree field to potentially qualify, provided each field has a logical connection to the duties of the position. A general degree without the necessary specialisation is not enough merely because the employee holds a bachelor’s degree.

The H-1B can therefore be relevant for roles in fields such as engineering, technology, accounting, law, medicine and other occupations where specialised degree-level knowledge is genuinely required.

The job title alone does not determine whether a position qualifies.

Yes. H-1B eligibility is not based on British nationality.

Unlike the E-1 and E-2 visa categories, the H-1B does not require the applicant to be a citizen of a treaty country.

Instead, the focus is primarily on:

• the U.S. position;
• the sponsoring employer;
• the relationship between the degree and job duties;
• the employee’s qualifications;
• wage and Labor Condition Application requirements;
• and, where applicable, the H-1B cap and selection process.

A British professional therefore may qualify if the U.S. employment and the individual satisfy the H-1B requirements.

Generally, yes.

The H-1B is an employer-sponsored visa. A prospective U.S. employer normally files the H-1B petition on behalf of the professional.

For a UK company, this distinction is important.

A UK business wanting to move or recruit someone into the United States normally needs an appropriate U.S. petitioner. If the UK company already has a U.S. subsidiary, affiliate or other U.S. operation, that entity may potentially sponsor the employee if the H-1B requirements are satisfied.

Flynn Hodkinson advises on immigration strategy but does not obtain job offers for individuals seeking U.S. employment.

Not every professional-looking role qualifies for H-1B status.

The position itself must normally require at least a bachelor’s degree or higher in a directly related specific specialty, or the equivalent, as the minimum requirement to perform the work.

“Directly related” means there must be a logical connection between the qualifying degree and the duties of the position.

That distinction can become important for roles with broad titles such as:

Business Analyst
Operations Manager
Product Manager
Consultant
Project Manager
Marketing Manager

A company cannot make a position an H-1B specialty occupation simply by deciding to require a bachelor’s degree.

The actual duties, level of specialised knowledge required and relationship between those duties and the qualifying degree fields all matter.

No.

A UK or other foreign degree may qualify where it is equivalent to the U.S. degree required for the specialty occupation.

USCIS can also consider qualifying education, specialised training and progressively responsible experience when assessing whether an individual has the equivalent of the required U.S. degree.

The analysis is therefore two-sided:

Does the job qualify as a specialty occupation?

and

Does this particular employee have the qualifications required for that specialty occupation?

Having an impressive academic or professional background does not solve a weak specialty-occupation case, and having a clearly qualifying professional role does not solve a mismatch between the employee’s qualifications and the position.

Many new H-1B cases are subject to an annual numerical limit.

The regular H-1B cap provides 65,000 numbers, with an additional 20,000 available through the U.S. advanced-degree exemption for qualifying beneficiaries with a master’s degree or higher from an eligible U.S. institution.

For cap-subject employment, an employer generally needs to participate in the USCIS electronic registration and selection process before it can file the H-1B petition.

The selection process changed for the FY 2027 cap season.

When USCIS receives more eligible registrations than are needed to meet the annual allocations, the current system uses a weighted selection process generally based on the wage level associated with the offered position. Higher wage levels receive greater weighting in the selection pool, although positions at all wage levels can still be selected.

This makes the current H-1B cap process different from the simple equal-probability “lottery” that many employers may remember from previous years.

No.

Some employers and types of employment may qualify for an exemption from the annual H-1B numerical cap.

This can include qualifying employment involving:

• U.S. institutions of higher education;
• certain nonprofit organisations related to or affiliated with institutions of higher education;
• nonprofit research organisations;
• and governmental research organisations.

Whether a particular employer or position qualifies for cap exemption requires analysis of the organisation and employment arrangement.

This distinction can completely change the strategy.

A cap-subject employer may need to plan around the registration cycle and selection process. A genuinely cap-exempt employer may potentially file without waiting for the annual cap process.

Before filing an H-1B petition, the employer generally needs a certified Labor Condition Application from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Among other requirements, the employer must agree to pay the H-1B employee at least the required wage.

That is generally the higher of:

the actual wage paid by the employer to similarly qualified employees, or

the prevailing wage for the occupation in the relevant area of employment.

The employer also has obligations relating to working conditions, notice and other H-1B programme requirements.

The wage is therefore not simply whatever amount the employer and employee have privately agreed.

The precise process depends on whether the case is cap-subject, cap-exempt and on the employee’s existing U.S. immigration position.

For a typical new cap-subject case, the process may involve:

1. H-1B registration and selection

Where the annual cap applies, the employer first needs an eligible registration selected through the USCIS cap process.

2. Labor Condition Application

The employer files a Labor Condition Application with the U.S. Department of Labor covering the position, wage and intended employment location.

3. H-1B petition

The U.S. employer files Form I-129 and supporting evidence with USCIS to establish the specialty occupation, the employee’s qualifications and the other H-1B requirements.

4. Visa application

If the employee is outside the United States and requires an H-1B visa, they generally apply through the U.S. Department of State after the necessary petition approval.

Approval of an H-1B petition does not itself guarantee issuance of a visa or admission to the United States.

H-1B status is commonly granted for an initial period of up to three years and may generally be extended for another three years, producing a usual maximum of six years.

There are important exceptions that can permit certain H-1B workers progressing through the employment-based permanent residence process to remain beyond the normal six-year limit.

Potentially.

H-1B is a temporary nonimmigrant classification, but it permits what is commonly described as dual intent.

An employer may therefore pursue an employment-based permanent residence process for an H-1B worker where the individual separately qualifies.

Permanent residence is not automatic, however. It requires its own immigration strategy and, depending on the category, may involve a Labor Certification and employment-based immigrant petition.

Flynn Hodkinson is a specialist U.S. visa and nationality law firm based in London advising businesses and individuals on U.S. immigration matters.

Managing Partner Janice Flynn has worked in U.S. visa and nationality law for more than 20 years in Chicago and the United Kingdom and has been recognised as a Who’s Who Legal Thought Leader in Corporate Immigration Law.

Her practice includes particular experience with H-1B Professional Worker visas, L-1 Intracompany Transferee visas, E-1 Treaty Trader visas, E-2 Treaty Investor visas and employment-based immigrant visa categories.

That wider experience matters where H-1B is only one possible answer.

The objective is not simply to determine whether an H-1B petition can be prepared. It is to understand which immigration route makes sense for the employee, the business and the proposed U.S. move.