US Work Visas (H-1B, L-1): A Guide for Hiring Foreign Nationals 

For US employers, sponsoring a foreign national for a work visa — most commonly the H-1B for specialty occupations or the L-1 for intracompany transferees — is a regulated process that involves government filings, employer obligations, significant costs, and long lead times. For HR and operations leaders, the strategic question is whether the role truly needs to be based in the US or whether the candidate can be hired compliantly in their home country through an Employer of Record. 

That question matters more than it used to. The mechanics of both visas have tightened, the cost of getting a case wrong has risen, and selection outcomes for the H-1B are now less predictable, not more. For a VP of Operations or a Global HR Director, the decision is rarely just legal. It is a workforce planning call about where the work sits, how fast the person can start, and how much administrative risk the business is willing to carry. 

This guide is written for the employer side of that decision. It covers what each route requires, where the cost and compliance burden actually falls, and when hiring the same person outside the US becomes the faster and more predictable option. 

→ Read the pillar guide: The Global Workforce Operations Playbook for US Employers 

Sources: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and US Department of Labor (DOL) guidance on H-1B specialty occupations, the H-1B electronic registration process, and L-1 intracompany transferees. Fees, dates, and selection rules change frequently and should be confirmed against current USCIS and DOL publications before filing. 

Choosing the right route 

Before comparing visa types in detail, it helps to frame the three options an employer is usually weighing. Each solves a different hiring problem, and the right answer often depends less on the candidate than on where the role needs to sit. 

• H-1B is generally the route for external hires in specialty occupations — someone new to the business who will perform a role that requires specialized knowledge, typically evidenced by a relevant degree. 
• L-1 is generally for existing employees moving within a multinational group — a manager, executive, or specialized knowledge worker transferring from a related foreign office to a US entity. 
• An Employer of Record (EOR) is relevant when the role can remain outside the US — allowing you to hire and pay the person compliantly in their home country without any US visa sponsorship at all. 

A short way to think about which tends to fit best: 

• New external hire, must be in the US: H-1B is usually the only route, with the caveat that selection is not guaranteed. 
• Existing group employee, must be in the US: L-1 is often the stronger and more predictable option, with no annual cap or lottery. 
• The work can be done from anywhere: an EOR hire in the candidate’s home country is frequently faster, cheaper, and lower risk than sponsorship. 

Decision shortcut 

Ask one question first: does this role genuinely need to be performed on US soil? 

If yes, you are choosing between H-1B and L-1 based on whether the person is an external hire or an existing group employee.If no, an EOR hire removes the visa question entirely — no cap, no lottery, no petition. 

The H-1B visa 

The H-1B is the primary route for hiring a foreign national into a US-based specialty occupation when that person is not already employed within your corporate group. It is well understood and widely used, but it carries two structural challenges for employers: a fixed annual cap, and a selection process that has become harder to predict. 

Eligibility and specialty occupation requirements 

An H-1B role must qualify as a specialty occupation. In practice that means the position requires the theoretical and practical application of specialized knowledge, and typically a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specific, directly related field. The degree requirement attaches to the role, not just the candidate: the job itself must genuinely require that level of education. 

Vague or generic job descriptions are one of the most common reasons for a Request for Evidence or a denial. The petition needs to show a clear link between the specialized duties of the role and the specific degree field required to perform them. 

Lottery system and timing 

Each fiscal year, US law caps new cap-subject H-1B visas at 85,000: 65,000 under the regular cap, plus 20,000 reserved for beneficiaries holding a US master’s degree or higher. Because demand consistently exceeds supply, USCIS runs a selection process to decide which registrations may proceed to a full petition. 

The process runs on an annual cycle. Employers first submit a short electronic registration for each candidate during a registration window that typically opens in early March, paying a registration fee for each beneficiary. USCIS then selects registrations and notifies employers, who have a filing window of at least 90 days to submit the full petition. Approved cap-subject employees can begin work no earlier than October 1, the start of the federal fiscal year. 

Two developments have made the timing and outcome harder to plan around. First, the registration fee rose sharply to 215 US dollars per beneficiary, a significant budget line for employers registering multiple candidates, and it is not refunded if the candidate is not selected. Second, USCIS has moved away from a purely random lottery toward a weighted selection method that gives more highly paid roles a greater chance of selection. Both of these are recent changes and employers should confirm the current rules and figures with USCIS before each cap season. 

Caution: selection is not within your control 

Even a strong, thoroughly documented H-1B case cannot proceed unless the registration is selected. Employers should plan for the possibility that a preferred candidate is not selected, and decide in advance what the contingency is — a later cycle, a different role location, or an alternative hiring model. 

Employer costs and wage obligations 

The direct costs of an H-1B case include the registration fee, government filing fees on the full petition, and legal fees. Beyond the fees, the employer takes on wage obligations: the petition must be supported by a certified Labor Condition Application, and the employer commits to paying at least the prevailing wage for the role and location as determined under the DOL system. 

There is also a less visible cost: the cost of a case that is prepared but not selected. Time spent scoping the role, gathering documentation, and paying the registration fee is not recovered if the candidate does not make it through selection. For roles where the timing is critical, that uncertainty is itself a business cost. 

Employers should also be aware that additional fees have been introduced for certain new H-1B petitions in recent policy changes. Because the detail and applicability of these fees have shifted and remain subject to change, the specific amounts and exemptions should be confirmed with current USCIS guidance and immigration counsel rather than assumed. 

The L-1 visa 

The L-1 is the intracompany transfer route. It allows a multinational employer to move an existing employee from a related foreign office to a US entity. Unlike the H-1B, it has no annual cap and no lottery, which makes it considerably more predictable for employers who qualify. 

L-1A versus L-1B 

The L-1 splits into two categories based on the role the employee will perform in the US. 

• L-1A is for managers and executives — employees who direct the organization, a department, or an essential function, with the authority and discretion that genuine management implies. L-1A status can extend up to a maximum of seven years. 
• L-1B is for specialized knowledge workers — employees whose knowledge of the company’s products, services, processes, or techniques is advanced and specific to the organization, rather than general industry experience. L-1B status can extend up to a maximum of five years. 

The distinction matters at adjudication. L-1A petitions are scrutinized on whether the person will truly function as a manager or executive rather than a senior individual contributor. L-1B petitions are scrutinized on whether the knowledge is genuinely specialized and not readily available in the wider labor market. 

Employer eligibility and corporate relationship 

The L-1 rests on a qualifying relationship between the US entity and the foreign entity. The two must be related as parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch, connected through common ownership and control rather than a contractual or franchise arrangement. Both must be actively doing business for the duration of the transfer. 

On the employee side, the transferee must have worked continuously for the qualifying foreign entity for at least one year within the three years immediately before the transfer. Extended breaks, changes of employer, or long prior stays in the US can interrupt that qualifying year, so the employment history needs to be documented cleanly. 

Strategic use of the L-1 

For multinational employers, the L-1 is often the more attractive route when it is available. There is no cap and no lottery, so the timing is within the employer’s control in a way the H-1B is not. It is particularly efficient when a transfer is already well supported by the employee’s existing group employment history and a clear qualifying corporate relationship. 

Larger groups that transfer people regularly can also use a blanket L arrangement to streamline repeated transfers, reducing the administrative load per case once the group qualifies. 

Compliance burden of sponsorship 

Sponsorship does not end at approval. Both routes, and the H-1B in particular, carry ongoing employer obligations. The responsibility for compliance sits with the employer throughout, and software or advisers can support that responsibility but do not remove it. 

H-1B recordkeeping and public access files 

H-1B sponsorship comes with documentation and posting duties tied to the Labor Condition Application. Employers are expected to maintain a public access file for each H-1B worker and to keep supporting wage and role documentation available in case of audit. These obligations are administrative but real, and gaps in the file are a common source of exposure. 

Material changes and amendments 

Changes to a sponsored role can trigger further filing obligations. A material change in job duties, a change of work location, or a change in salary can each require an amended petition. HR teams need a process to catch these changes before they happen, rather than discovering the obligation after the fact. 

Risk areas HR should monitor 

The most common issues cluster in a few predictable places: 

• Vague or generic job descriptions that fail to establish the specialty occupation or specialized knowledge. 
• Offsite or third party placements where the worker sits at a client site, raising questions about control and the terms of the petition. 
• Role changes after approval that are not reflected in an amended filing. 
• Weak documentation of the qualifying relationship, the wage level, or the employee’s qualifications. 
• Incomplete visa files where the public access file or supporting records are not kept current. 

The alternative: hiring globally via an EOR 

For a growing share of roles, the most efficient answer is not a US visa at all. Where the work can be performed outside the US, an Employer of Record lets you hire and pay the person compliantly in their home country, sidestepping sponsorship entirely. 

What EOR solves 

An EOR acts as the legal employer of record in the worker’s country, handling local employment compliance, payroll, and statutory obligations on your behalf while the person works for your business day to day. When a role does not require US relocation, this removes the cap, the lottery, the registration fee, and the lead time of several months in a single step. 

For a workforce planning team, that predictability is the point. You can extend an offer and onboard the person on a known timeline, rather than building a hiring plan around a selection outcome you cannot influence. 

Where EOR is not a substitute 

It is important to be precise about the limits. An EOR is not a workaround for a role that genuinely must be performed in the US. If the person needs to be physically present on US soil to do the job, sponsorship is the appropriate route and an EOR does not replace it. The EOR option applies specifically where the role can sit outside the US without harming the business need. 

Cost and speed comparison 

The tradeoffs between the three routes are easiest to see side by side. 

→ Related: What is an Employer of Record (EOR)? A Guide for Hiring Global Talent 

→ Related: How to Pay International Employees: A Guide for US Companies 

How IRIS supports compliant global hiring 

When the decision points toward hiring outside the US, the operational question becomes how to employ and pay someone in another country without standing up a local entity or absorbing unfamiliar compliance risk. This is where IRIS Global Payroll Services fits. 

IRIS Global Payroll Services helps employers hire and pay international employees compliantly, including through an Employer of Record where that is the right model. The value for an operations or HR leader is practical: a predictable onboarding timeline, one route to compliant employment and payroll across many countries, and a reduction in the administrative load that sponsorship or entity setup would otherwise create. 

The point is not that this replaces visa sponsorship where sponsorship is genuinely required. It is that for the significant share of roles which do not need to sit on US soil, there is a faster and more predictable path — and the same platform can support your international payroll obligations once the person is hired. 

→ Learn more about IRIS Global Payroll Services 

The commercial case, in one line 

H-1B and L-1 each solve a real hiring problem, but both carry cost, delay, and ongoing compliance. When the role does not need to be based in the US, hiring through an EOR can be faster, more predictable, and easier to operationalize — and IRIS Global Payroll Services is built to support exactly that. 

Frequently asked questions 

What happens if an H-1B petition is not selected in the lottery? 

If a registration is not selected, the employer cannot file a cap-subject H-1B petition for that candidate in that cycle. The registration fee is not refunded. In practice, employers either wait for a later selection round if one is run, register again in the next annual cycle, or pursue an alternative — a different visa route if one fits, or hiring the person outside the US through an EOR where the role allows it. 

Because selection is outside the employer’s control, the sensible approach is to decide the contingency before registering, rather than after learning a candidate was not selected. 

Can an employer pass H-1B filing costs to the employee? 

Certain H-1B costs are the employer’s responsibility and cannot be shifted to the employee, and there are specific rules about which fees an employee may or may not be asked to bear. Because the detail depends on the specific facts and the rules change, employers should confirm the current position with immigration counsel rather than assuming any given fee can be passed on. 

Does an EOR employee need a US work visa? 

No — provided the employee is working outside the US. An EOR employs the person compliantly in their own country, so no US work visa is involved. A US work visa only becomes relevant if the role requires the person to be physically present and working in the US. 

Is L-1 faster than H-1B? 

For employers who qualify, the L-1 is generally more predictable because it has no annual cap and no lottery, so the timing is within the employer’s control rather than tied to a selection outcome and a fixed rule on start dates. Actual processing times vary, and premium processing is available for both routes, but the absence of a cap is the main reason the L-1 is often the more dependable option when an intracompany transfer is possible. 

Can a company switch from H-1B to EOR? 

It depends on where the work needs to be done. If a candidate is not selected in the H-1B process, or if the business decides sponsorship is not worth the cost and uncertainty, and the role can be performed outside the US, then hiring the person through an EOR in their home country is a viable alternative. It is not a substitute where the role genuinely must be based in the US.