Working in the USA

What the employer must have

• Register you in USCIS's electronic H-1B registration (usually March) and be selected in the lottery before filing a cap-subject petition — the FY2027 cap of 65,000 + 20,000 (US master's) is already reached
• Get a Labor Condition Application (Form ETA-9035) certified by the US Department of Labor, attesting to pay at least the prevailing wage
• File Form I-129 with USCIS; the extra $100,000 payment for workers abroad is currently blocked by a court order, but DHS says it plans to collect it if the order is lifted

What you must do before you leave

1. No Indian emigration clearance is needed — the USA is not one of the 17 notified ECR countries, so even ECR-passport holders do not need clearance for US employment
2. After petition approval, apply for the H-1B visa at a US consulate in India (DS-160 form + interview)
3. Check your passport's ECR/ECNR status anyway — a passport without the ECR endorsement is automatically ECNR

Things to watch

• H-1B is a lottery: registration does not guarantee selection; the FY2027 cap is already full, so the next chance is the next registration window (typically March)
• The $100,000 payment for new H-1B petitions for workers abroad was vacated by courts (First Circuit denied the government's stay 24 Jul 2026) but DHS says it still plans to collect it if allowed — verify the live status before an employer files
• India is NOT on the January 2026 75-country US immigrant-visa pause, and nonimmigrant visas (including H-1B) are excluded from that pause anyway
• Employer-sponsored green cards after H-1B are subject to per-country limits — USCIS's own rules address workers stuck waiting for immigrant-visa availability

Official sources

• USCIS — H-1B Specialty Occupations
• USCIS — Presidential Proclamation on Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers
• MEA India — Emigration Abroad for Employment (ECR rules)

Jobs in the USA right now