Sponsoring an H-1B employee in Texas means proving the role is a specialty occupation, filing a Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor, and clearing a lottery that now weighs registrations by wage level instead of drawing names blind. A $100,000 government fee also applies to many new petitions, and the White House just extended it through September 2027.
Serrano Law Firm PLLC has walked Houston employers through H-1B sponsorship since 2006. If you’re preparing a petition for the upcoming cap season, contact our firm to talk through your options.
What Counts as a Specialty Occupation
A specialty occupation requires theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge, plus a bachelor’s degree in a related field, under INA Section 214(i)(1), 8 U.S.C. § 1184(i)(1). Software engineering, accounting, and mechanical engineering roles usually qualify, but a job title alone proves nothing to USCIS FOIA Request.
Adjudicators compare your job posting against the actual occupation standards and your org chart, looking for daylight between them. A manufacturing company that lists “engineer” but pays closer to a technician wage should expect a Request for Evidence, and closing that gap before the posting goes up is far cheaper than after. It’s the kind of read an H-1B attorney can usually finish in an afternoon.
How the 2026 Registration and Weighted Lottery Works
Registration for the fiscal year 2027 cap opens in March 2026, and every beneficiary needs a $215 fee filed through a USCIS online account. USCIS no longer draws names blind. A final rule effective February 27, 2026 now ranks registrations by the prevailing wage offered, measured against Department of Labor data for that occupation and metro area, so a Houston employer offering a higher tier enters the pool with more weight.
Registration and Selection Timeline
Employers register each beneficiary in March, and USCIS reports results a few weeks later. Selected employers get a 90-day window, typically April 1 through June 30, to file the complete I-129 petition with a certified Labor Condition Application attached.
How Wage Levels Change Your Odds
Level I carries one entry and roughly 15 percent odds. Level II carries two entries and about 31 percent. Level III carries three entries and about 46 percent. Level IV carries four entries and roughly 61 percent. A modest raise before registration can be the difference between filing and waiting a year.
The $100,000 Fee and Texas Employers
A presidential proclamation signed September 19, 2025 added a $100,000 fee to new H-1B petitions for beneficiaries currently outside the country, effective that September 21, and the White House quietly extended the restriction through September 2027 this month. It doesn’t touch current H-1B holders or petitions filed earlier, and the Secretary of Homeland Security can grant a national interest exception case by case, though published guidance still hasn’t defined the criteria. Guides written before this month still describe a flat lottery and skip the extension, and a Texas employer planning a 2027 hire off older information is budgeting for a program that no longer works the way they think it does. Serrano Law Firm PLLC tracks these updates as they land, so clients aren’t planning around rules that already expired.
Filing the Petition and the Real Costs
Filing an H-1B petition costs more than most Texas employers expect, and the mandatory fees stack before an attorney fee ever enters the picture.
- Base costs: the I-129 filing fee, the Asylum Program Fee, and the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee (sometimes called the anti-fraud fee), required on every cap-subject petition.
- Size-based costs: the ACWIA training fee, which scales with company size. Universities, nonprofit organizations affiliated with a university, and nonprofit or government research organizations don’t owe this fee at all.
- New petitions only: the $100,000 proclamation fee for beneficiaries currently outside the country.
None of these can be shifted onto the employee under federal law. The one exception, premium processing, applies only if the worker chooses to pay it. An H-1B attorney reviewing the Labor Condition Application alongside the I-129 usually catches a missing fee before USCIS does.
Cap-Exempt Paths for Texas Employers
Not every employer has to compete in the lottery, since universities, nonprofits affiliated with a university, and nonprofit or government research organizations can sponsor H-1B workers year round without touching the March window.
A research hospital in the Texas Medical Center or a university lab in Austin can file an H-1B petition any month, often through the Texas Service Center in Irving. That single distinction, cap-exempt versus cap-subject, decides whether a Texas employer plans around a once-a-year lottery or simply files when the role opens.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does H-1B sponsorship take?
It runs longer than most employers plan for, usually eight to twelve months counting registration, prep, and processing. Premium processing gets a decision in 15 calendar days for an extra fee. Build your timeline around next spring, not next month.
Does the $100,000 fee apply to extensions or transfers?
No, it’s tied to new petitions for a worker currently outside the country, not extensions of someone already here. USCIS guidance from September 2025 specifically excluded renewals. Keep the original approval on file, but don’t budget the extra $100,000 for an extension.
What happens if my employee isn’t selected in the lottery?
You can register the same person again next March, and a missed year doesn’t hurt future odds. Under the weighted system, a Level IV wage carries roughly four times the weight of Level I. Revisiting the wage level before the next window is often the biggest lever a Texas employer has.
Can the employee pay any of the H-1B fees?
Federal law bars employers from shifting the base fee, Asylum Program Fee, Anti-Fraud Fee, or ACWIA fee onto the worker. Immigration processing is the one exception, since the employee may choose to cover it. Have payroll confirm who actually paid, since a misdirected fee tends to surface in an audit years later.
Serrano Law Firm PLLC: Your Houston Employment-Based Immigration Law Firm
Planning an H-1B hire for the 2027 cap season? Serrano Law Firm PLLC has assisted employers with H-1B filings out of Houston since 2006. Contact us today if you need legal assistance with your petition.
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