H-1B wage level calculator: Level I to IV and lottery entries (2026-27)
Since 27 February 2026, the H-1B lottery enters each person 1 to 4 times by wage level: Level IV four times, III three, II two and I once (DHS final rule, 90 FR 60864). The level depends on the salary, the occupation (SOC code) and the area of the job: for software developers, Level II starts at $187,075 a year in San Jose, CA and at $116,896 in Dallas, TX (Department of Labor wage file for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, read on 7 November 2026).
Lottery entries by wage level: I = 1 · II = 2 · III = 3 · IV = 4
Sources: Federal Register, Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions (final rule, 90 FR 60864, 29 December 2025); Federal Register, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (proclamation, 91 FR 60497, 23 September 2026). Read on 7 November 2026. U.S. government data, public domain.
Not legal or immigration advice. This page reports the Department of Labor wage file and the DHS rule as we read them. The level on a registration also depends on the job duties, the SOC code and the place of work chosen for the job, and the employer attests to it. Check with USCIS and the Department of Labor, and ask an immigration lawyer about your own case.
How the wage level is chosen
The wage level is the one written on the registration, for the job's SOC code and the area of the place of work. The DHS rule says:
- The registrant must select “the highest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level that the beneficiary’s proffered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code in the area(s) of intended employment”.
- Several places of work: “If the beneficiary will work in multiple locations, or in multiple positions if the registrant is an agent, the registrant must select the lowest corresponding OEWS wage level that the beneficiary’s proffered wage will equal or exceed.”
- A salary range: “If the beneficiary’s proffered wage is expressed as a range, the registrant must select the OEWS wage level that the lowest wage in the range will equal or exceed.”
- Below Level I: “If the beneficiary’s proffered wage is lower than OEWS wage level I, because it is based on a prevailing wage from another legitimate source (other than OEWS) or an independent authoritative source, the registrant must select ‘‘wage level I.’’”
- No OEWS wage for the job: “Where there is no current OEWS prevailing wage information for the beneficiary’s proffered position, the registrant must select the OEWS wage level that corresponds to the requirements of the beneficiary’s proffered position using the Department of Labor’s prevailing wage guidance.”
- More than one registration for the same person: “USCIS will assign each unique beneficiary to the lowest OEWS wage level among all registrations submitted on the beneficiary’s behalf”.
“Each unique beneficiary will only be counted once toward the numerical allocation projections, regardless of how many registrations were submitted for that beneficiary or how many times the beneficiary is entered in the selection pool”. Employers must still pay at least the required wage: DHS notes that “employers remain legally obligated to pay H–1B workers at least the prevailing wage or the actual wage, whichever is higher.”
Source: Federal Register, Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions (final rule, 90 FR 60864, 29 December 2025). Read on 7 November 2026. U.S. government data, public domain.
Entries and estimated chances
| Wage level | Entries in the lottery | People assumed by DHS | Chance, random lottery | Chance, weighted lottery (DHS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | 1 | 89,911 | 29.59% | 15.29% |
| Level II | 2 | 177,216 | 29.59% | 30.58% |
| Level III | 3 | 37,928 | 29.59% | 45.87% |
| Level IV | 4 | 15,657 | 29.59% | 61.16% |
How DHS got 15.29%: 94,900 selections ÷ (89,911 × 1 + 177,216 × 2 + 37,928 × 3 + 15,657 × 4 = 620,755 entries) = 15.29% for one entry; Level II is twice that, Level III three times, Level IV four times. These are DHS estimates for a pool shaped like 28% Level I, 55% Level II, 12% Level III and 5% Level IV, not a forecast for the next lottery. H-1B lottery odds by wage level.
Source: Federal Register, Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions (final rule, 90 FR 60864, 29 December 2025). Read on 7 November 2026. U.S. government data, public domain.
Example: software developers in the main areas
The same salary can be a different level in a different city. Yearly salary from which each level starts for Software Developers (15-1252) in the 10 areas with the most jobs in the occupation:
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 121,000 | $109,845 | $137,717 | $165,589 | $193,461 | 1 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 92,770 | $111,613 | $143,104 | $174,595 | $206,086 | 1 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 87,350 | $152,797 | $187,075 | $221,374 | $255,653 | 1 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 69,060 | $102,086 | $127,462 | $152,838 | $178,214 | 1 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 69,030 | $137,093 | $165,131 | $193,149 | $221,187 | 1 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 67,030 | $95,202 | $116,896 | $138,590 | $160,285 | 1 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 55,540 | $106,787 | $134,202 | $161,637 | $189,051 | 1 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 42,310 | $114,275 | $138,237 | $162,198 | $186,160 | 1 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 40,370 | $92,789 | $117,083 | $141,398 | $165,693 | 1 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 36,300 | $91,915 | $113,776 | $135,658 | $157,518 | 1 |
Yearly salary from which each level starts. Jobs: people employed in the occupation in the area (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Geo level 1 = wage computed from the area itself; 2 = area plus contiguous areas; 3 = statewide; 4 = national (OFLC). Tap a column heading to sort.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor (OFLC), wage data file 2026-27 (OFLC_Wages_2026-27.zip, updated 1 July 2026); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025. Read on 7 November 2026. U.S. government data, public domain.
In force or proposed
| Change | Status | Detail | Federal Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted lottery by wage level (1 to 4 entries) | In force | since 27 February 2026; used for the FY 2027 registration | 90 FR 60864 |
| $100,000 payment for certain H-1B petitions | In force | paid with the employer's petition for new H-1B workers outside the United States: restriction on entry of Proclamation 10973 of 19 September 2025, extended until 21 September 2027; DHS can exempt an individual, all workers of a company or all workers in an industry when it finds their hiring “is in the national interest” | 91 FR 60497 |
| $103,265 fee on H-1B cap-subject petitions | Proposal | not in force; comments closed on 24 September 2026 | 91 FR 54817 |
| Higher OEWS wage levels (DOL) | Proposal | Level I from the 17th to the 34th percentile, II 34th to 52nd, III 50th to 70th, IV 67th to 88th; not in force; comments closed on 26 May 2026 | 91 FR 15454 |
Occupations with a page
34 occupations of the two SOC groups with the most H-1B cap petitions: DHS counted “Of the 470,023 H–1B cap-subject petitions received in FY 2020–FY 2024, 69 percent (326,000) were associated with SOC major group 15 (Computer and Mathematical Occupations).” and “After SOC major group code 15, the major group with the next greatest number of petitioners is SOC major group code 17 (Architecture and Engineering Occupations). This major group had 52,402 petitions filed in FY 2020 through FY 2024.” We include the computer and mathematical occupations and the architects and engineers (17-1011 and 17-2000) that are on OFLC's Appendix A list (bachelor's degree or higher) and for which BLS publishes jobs in at least 20 areas. Each occupation page lists the 60 areas with the most jobs; an area page exists where the occupation has at least 5,000 jobs (OEWS May 2025) and OFLC computes the wage from the area itself (Geo level 1), up to 10 per occupation. Every other occupation and area is in the calculator.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor (OFLC), wage data file 2026-27 (OFLC_Wages_2026-27.zip, updated 1 July 2026); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025; Federal Register, Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions (final rule, 90 FR 60864, 29 December 2025). Read on 7 November 2026. U.S. government data, public domain.
Questions people ask
How do I check my H-1B wage level?
Find the SOC code of the job and the area that contains the place of work, then compare the offered salary with the four OFLC levels for that pair: the level is the highest one the salary equals or exceeds. OFLC publishes hourly wages; the yearly figure is the hourly wage × 2,080 hours. The calculator on this page does it for 299 occupations and all 530 areas.
What is the H-1B weighted lottery rule?
A DHS final rule published on 29 December 2025 (90 FR 60864), in force since 27 February 2026. If a random selection is needed, each person is entered once at Level I, twice at Level II, three times at Level III and four times at Level IV, and is still counted only once.
Are H-1B wage levels set by state?
No. They are set for each occupation and each area: a metropolitan area or a nonmetropolitan part of a state. OFLC uses statewide data only when there is no estimate for the area or for the area plus the areas next to it (Geo level 3).
Does the H-1B wage level include bonus?
Only in limited cases. DHS wrote: “While cash bonuses may, in limited circumstances, be counted towards the annual salary” (under the Department of Labor rule 20 CFR 655.731(c)(2)), while stock options, profit sharing and similar benefits cannot reliably be counted. It adds: “This rule does not change how wages are defined or measured.”
Will the H-1B wage levels increase?
OFLC publishes new wages every July, so the dollar amounts change each year. Separately, the Department of Labor proposed on 27 March 2026 to raise Level I from the 17th to the 34th percentile and Level IV from the 67th to the 88th. It is a proposal, not in force.
When is the H-1B lottery in 2027?
USCIS announces the dates on uscis.gov. The rule says the registration period lasts at least 14 calendar days and that USCIS announces its start at least 30 calendar days in advance.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor (OFLC), wage data file 2026-27 (OFLC_Wages_2026-27.zip, updated 1 July 2026): ALC_Export.csv (all industries; the higher-education table is not used here: “H–1B petitions for aliens who are employed by, or have received offers of employment at, U.S. institutions of higher education, nonprofit entities related to or affiliated with U.S. institutions of higher education, or nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations are exempt from the H–1B cap.”), Geography.csv, oes_soc_occs.csv, Appendix A and the technical release notes (“This data is based on BLS’s May 2025 wage estimates.”). SHA-256 of the zip:
edc01f64e2f805ef… - OFLC Wage Search: “Yearly wages are calculated based on 2080.0 work hours per year and rounded to the nearest dollar.”
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (jobs by area, US mean and median).
- Federal Register, Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions (final rule, 90 FR 60864, 29 December 2025); Federal Register, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (proclamation, 91 FR 60497, 23 September 2026); Federal Register, Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions (proposed rule, 91 FR 54817, 25 August 2026); Federal Register, Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States (proposed rule, 91 FR 15454, 27 March 2026).
H-1B lottery odds by wage level · US OPT and STEM OPT: fees and deadlines · Work visa salary thresholds