US Work Visa Eligibility Checker 2026

About this tool

The US Work Visa Eligibility Checker ranks five common US work-visa paths against your profile: H-1B specialty occupation, O-1A extraordinary ability, L-1 intra-company transfer, EB-2 NIW National Interest Waiver self-petition green card, and EB-1A extraordinary ability self-petition green card. It accounts for the FY2026 H-1B lottery odds, the Master's cap exemption, and the May 2026 visa bulletin backlog for Indian and Chinese nationals on employment-based green cards.

Output: a ranked list with eligibility score, a 4-path side-by-side comparison (requirements, processing time, cost, lottery vs no-lottery), and a per-country backlog estimate. Use the calculator above to model your own situation, then read the full strategy guide below.

How it works (US work visa landscape 2026)

Most international workers reach the US through one of these nonimmigrant or immigrant categories. Each has a different bar, a different cost, and different waiting times.

1. H-1B specialty occupation: requires a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in the field, a sponsor, and a registration in the March lottery. Master's-cap holders get a second draw at the 20,000-slot Master's cap. Lottery selection in FY2026 was roughly 25 percent of registrations.
2. O-1A extraordinary ability: no lottery, no cap, but the bar is higher. You need to satisfy at least 3 of 8 criteria (awards, membership, press, judging, original contributions, scholarly articles, critical role, high salary).
3. L-1A manager/exec or L-1B specialized knowledge: requires 1 year of employment with a foreign affiliate of your US employer in the past 3 years. L-1A converts cleanly to EB-1C green card.
4. EB-2 NIW: green card by self-petition. Requires a Master's or 5 years progressive experience plus Bachelor's, plus passing the 3-prong Dhanasar test (substantial merit and national importance, well-positioned to advance the endeavour, waiver in the national interest). No employer sponsor needed.
5. EB-1A extraordinary ability green card: top-of-field self-petition. Requires sustained national or international acclaim and at least 3 of 10 criteria (similar to but higher bar than O-1A). No employer, no labor certification. Faster than EB-2/EB-3 for non-backlogged countries.

The scoring logic

Cost cheat sheet (USCIS 2026 fees)

USCIS fees jumped in April 2024 under the Final Fee Rule. Most attorneys add $3K to $8K on top for the petition build.

Reading the table: H-1B is the cheapest on paper because the employer pays, but it costs you a lottery year. O-1A and L-1 skip the lottery entirely. EB-2 NIW and EB-1A go straight to green card and let you self-petition without an employer.

H-1B in 2026 - lottery odds + Master's cap math

H-1B is the default white-collar US work visa. It needs three things: a sponsor US employer, a specialty occupation that requires a bachelor's degree (or equivalent in experience), and a salary that meets or exceeds the Department of Labor prevailing wage for the role + location. The catch is the cap: 65,000 regular slots plus 20,000 Master's slots, against ~470,000 registrations in FY2026. That's a regular-cap selection rate of about 25 percent, plus a second pass through the Master's cap that takes the US-Master's-degree selection rate to roughly 35 to 40 percent.

Cap-exempt employers (degree-granting universities, university-affiliated non-profits, government research organisations) are NOT in the lottery. If you work for one, you can be sponsored any time of year.

Once selected, H-1B status is 3 years initially, extendable to 6 years. After 6 years you must leave the US for 1 year before applying again, UNLESS you have an approved I-140 (typically through PERM, EB-2 NIW, or EB-1A) in which case you get 3-year H-1B extensions until your green card date is reached (AC21 104(c) and 106(a)).

O-1A - for people who are objectively good

O-1A is for individuals of extraordinary ability in sciences, education, business, or athletics. There is no lottery. There is no annual cap. There is no minimum salary. The catch is the bar.

You must demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim by satisfying at least 3 of 8 criteria:

1. Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards.
2. Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement.
3. Published material in professional or major trade publications about the beneficiary.
4. Participation as a judge of the work of others in the field.
5. Original scientific, scholarly, or business contributions of major significance.
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in professional journals or major media.
7. Employment in a critical or essential capacity for organisations with a distinguished reputation.
8. High salary or remuneration compared to others in the field.

O-1A is the standard escape valve when H-1B lottery fails repeatedly. Typical profile: postdoc with 8-15 publications + 100+ citations, a US-Master's student with 2-3 patents + 1 prestigious award, or a senior engineer with high salary + critical role at a notable employer. It allows dual intent and is a clean bridge to EB-1A or EB-2 NIW.

L-1A and L-1B - intra-company transfer

If you have worked for at least 1 of the past 3 years at a foreign office of your US employer, you can transfer to a US office on L-1. Two flavours:

• L-1A manager / executive: 7-year maximum, converts to EB-1C green card (no lottery, no labor certification, generally faster).
• L-1B specialized knowledge: 5-year maximum, requires deep US-employer-specific knowledge. Subject to higher RFE rate (~40 percent in 2024-2025 USCIS data).

L-1 spouses (L-2) get automatic work authorization. The whole family files together.

EB-2 NIW - the self-petition green card

EB-2 NIW is the green card category for people who can show that their work has substantial merit and national importance, and that it would benefit the US to waive the normal labor certification (PERM) requirement.

USCIS uses the Matter of Dhanasar (2016) 3-prong framework:

1. The proposed endeavour has substantial merit and national importance.
2. The applicant is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavour.
3. On balance, it would be beneficial to the US to waive the labor certification.

You also need to qualify for EB-2 baseline: a Master's degree (or Bachelor's + 5 years of progressive experience). NIW is self-petition, so no employer sponsor required.

Strong NIW profiles: STEM PhD researchers, healthcare workers in underserved areas, AI researchers, climate scientists, entrepreneurs in critical sectors. Approval is fact-specific and the evidence package is heavy (typically 200+ pages).

EB-1A - extraordinary ability green card

EB-1A is the green card cousin of O-1A. The criteria are similar (3 of 10 vs 3 of 8) but the bar is meaningfully higher - USCIS expects sustained national or international acclaim at the very top of your field. Approval rates were roughly 56 percent in 2024 (USCIS data) vs 91 percent for O-1A.

The 10 EB-1A criteria:

1. Nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards.
2. Membership in associations requiring outstanding achievement.
3. Published material about the beneficiary.
4. Participation as a judge of the work of others.
5. Original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business contributions of major significance.
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in professional journals or major media.
7. Artistic exhibitions or showcases.
8. Performance in leading or critical role at distinguished organisations.
9. High salary or remuneration compared to others.
10. Commercial successes in performing arts.

Why people choose EB-1A even though it's harder: EB-1 has shorter backlogs for India and China than EB-2/EB-3. May 2026 EB-1 India is around April 2022 (~4 years) vs EB-2 India around January 2013 (~13 years). For Indian and Chinese nationals, the EB-1A petition often pays off even if you also have a pending EB-2 NIW or PERM-based EB-2.

The country-of-birth wrinkle (and the workaround)

Employment-based green cards are subject to per-country caps: no more than 7 percent of total annual visas can go to nationals of one country. With India and China sending many applicants, the backlog stretches across decades for EB-2 and EB-3.

The "country chargeability" is the country of birth, NOT current citizenship. If you were born in India but became Canadian, you are still charged to India unless you can use your spouse's country of birth (cross-chargeability) or your parent's country of birth (if you were born in a third country while your parents were temporarily there).

Spouse cross-chargeability is the most common: if you were born in India but your spouse was born in the Philippines, you can use Philippines for visa bulletin purposes on a joint EB-2 / EB-3 petition (which moves your queue from 13 years to current).

What this checker does NOT cover

• EB-5 investor visa: $800,000 minimum investment in a Targeted Employment Area. Different process. Separate calculator coming.
• E-1 / E-2 treaty trader / investor: requires treaty country nationality + qualifying business. Country-specific.
• TN under USMCA: Canadian and Mexican professionals in specific occupations. No lottery, no cap, but only for 60+ listed jobs.
• H-1B1 (Chile / Singapore): country-specific quota of 6,800 annually combined; unused slots transfer to regular H-1B pool.
• E-3 (Australia): Australian-specific equivalent of H-1B, with 10,500 annual slots, rarely fully subscribed.
• J-1 with home-residence (2-year): requires waiver before converting to H-1B or green card.
• Refugee, asylum, U-visa, T-visa: humanitarian categories with separate eligibility rules.

If your situation involves prior visa denials, criminal history, prior overstays, prior misrepresentation findings, or any inadmissibility waiver, this tool is not enough. Talk to a licensed US immigration attorney.

Common mistakes US visa applicants make

• Counting on the H-1B lottery as a plan. With 25 percent selection rates and no second chance for 12 months, every visa lawyer recommends a Plan B before March 1.
• Filing EB-2 NIW with a thin Dhanasar package. The "national importance" prong is where 60 percent of NIW denials happen. Need concrete US-level impact, not just "the field is important".
• Filing EB-1A based on a single criterion. You need at least 3 of 10 AND a final merits determination that you are at the top of your field. Meeting 3 criteria is necessary but not sufficient.
• Letting status lapse before COS approves. H-1B cap-gap protects F-1 OPT students until October 1 only if H-1B was filed in time. Falling out of status causes long-term consequences (ineligibility for AOS, 3/10-year bars).
• Choosing AOS over CP without checking timing. Consular Processing is often faster (6-12 months vs 12-24 for AOS in current environment) but requires leaving the US, which can be risky if you have pending RFE, advance parole issues, or admin processing risk.
• Picking a poor petition strategy on EB-1A vs EB-2 NIW. For India/China nationals, EB-1A is usually worth filing in parallel with EB-2 NIW because of faster visa bulletin.
• Switching employers in the middle of PERM. PERM is employer-specific. Move during the wrong window and you start over. AC21 only protects you after I-485 has been pending 180 days.

When this estimate is not enough

This tool gives a starting estimate. Get a US immigration attorney when any of these apply:

• You have a prior visa refusal under 214(b), 221(g), or any inadmissibility ground (212(a)).
• You have a prior overstay (especially over 180 days, which triggers 3- and 10-year bars).
• You have a criminal record, even an arrest without conviction.
• You have ever been deported, removed, or had an expedited removal order.
• You are J-1 with a 2-year home-residence requirement (212(e)).
• You're considering EB-1A or EB-2 NIW (both need professionally drafted petitions).
• You have a complex chargeability question (born in country X but ethnically Y, spouse from Z).

Related Tools

Frequently asked questions