USCIS will replace the H-1B visa’s traditional random selection with a weighted process and, along with DHS and the White House, has also moved to raise costs for certain filings and tighten continuity rules for some work permits, changes that sharpen the consequences of the program’s long-standing Six-Year Limit for workers and employers.
For many H-1B holders, the practical question remains the same: how to keep working in the United States once time in H-1B status approaches the six-year cap, especially when a Green Card case moves slowly.
USCIS also tied its messaging to the idea that selection should better reflect labor-market signals and program integrity, framing the changes as a shift toward merit-based outcomes and stronger vetting.
Under U.S. immigration law, most H-1B approvals follow a standard pattern: three years initially and a renewal for another three years. That common 3+3 cadence creates a planning horizon that can clash with multi-year projects, product roadmaps, and family decisions built around schooling, housing and travel.
The limit generally counts time spent in the United States in H-1B status. For workers who travel frequently, employers often track time carefully because the six-year total can dictate when an extension must be filed, when a role must be restructured, or when an employee must leave the country to preserve eligibility.
As the cap approaches, the operational pressure often spreads beyond the employee. Teams can face handovers mid-project, employers may need to plan for coverage, and families can face abrupt choices if an extension strategy does not line up with immigration timelines.
The main legal bridge beyond six years often runs through the employment-based Green Card process and a law known as AC21, the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act. AC21’s extension framework exists to prevent workers from falling out of status solely because immigrant visa backlogs and processing times outlast the H-1B’s normal maximum stay.
One pathway allows one-year extensions beyond the six-year cap when a Green Card case has reached certain milestones early enough. If an employer files a PERM Labor Certification or `Form I-140` at least 365 days before the worker’s sixth anniversary in H-1B status, the worker can become eligible for one-year incremental extensions after six years, including while an I-140 remains pending.
A second pathway provides longer extension increments when the worker has an approved immigrant petition but cannot yet move to the final stage because a visa number is not available. If `Form I-140` is approved but a visa number is not current, USCIS can grant H-1B extensions in three-year increments beyond six years, a mechanism that often matters for nationals of India, China and other high-demand countries.
USCIS summarized that policy on its H-1B program page, stating: “We may grant extensions on this basis in up to 3-year increments until we make a final decision. [or] in up to 1-year increments [if 365 days have passed since filing].”
That structure can confuse workers because “eligible for an extension” does not mean the same thing as “approved for permanent residence,” and it also differs from having a fully approved H-1B petition in hand. AC21 does not erase the Green Card backlog; it offers a way to keep extending H-1B time while the underlying immigrant case advances.
For workers and employers, timing becomes a central strategy. A PERM or I-140 filed too late can leave a worker approaching the Six-Year Limit without a qualifying basis for an AC21 extension, even if an employer intends to sponsor the person for a Green Card.
Work authorization can also continue through other mechanisms, particularly once a worker reaches the adjustment-of-status stage. When a worker becomes eligible to file `Form I-485`, the adjustment application can open access to an Employment Authorization Document, or EAD, which can allow work even if an H-1B period ends.
Using an EAD can change how tightly a worker’s employment is tied to H-1B status, though status and travel considerations can still shape choices for the worker and the employer. In many cases, workers and their counsel weigh whether staying in H-1B status, relying on an EAD, or maintaining both options best fits job mobility, travel needs, and the timing of a Green Card decision.
USCIS also recognizes a narrower contingency option known as a Compelling Circumstances EAD, sometimes called a CCEAD. If approved, it can provide a way to continue working after H-1B time ends, but the policy functions as a limited, case-specific pathway rather than a universal alternative to AC21 extensions.
When extension pathways do not apply, workers typically consider options that carry significant constraints, especially around work authorization. One possibility is spending one continuous year outside the United States to reset eligibility for a new six-year H-1B term, a step that can preserve a future return but often disrupts employment continuity and family life.
Even after a one-year reset, returning can still depend on the cap process, including selection rules where applicable. That uncertainty can make the “reset” option less predictable for workers who need a guaranteed start date in the United States.
Some workers evaluate changes of status to other visa categories. Options can include the F-1 student route, an L-1 intracompany transfer when the worker qualifies and the employer can support it, or a B-2 tourist classification for a short stay, though the core limitation remains that work authorization does not automatically follow from a change of status.
Remote work from outside the United States can also serve as an operational workaround in select scenarios, allowing continuity with a U.S. employer while the worker remains abroad and does not accrue additional H-1B time in the United States. Employers, however, still need to manage compliance at a high level, including how roles, payroll and duties align with the worker’s location and any future U.S. immigration strategy.
For employers, the clearest risk-management step remains early action on the Green Card track. Starting PERM and `Form I-140` early can give workers a qualifying basis for AC21 extensions before the Six-Year Limit becomes a crisis point, particularly when priority dates and visa-number backlogs can slow the last stages of permanent residence.
Filing H-1B extensions with enough buffer can also reduce avoidable gaps. Processing variability and documentation issues can turn a routine extension into a time-sensitive matter, especially for workers traveling or nearing a status expiration.
Backlogs and priority dates complicate planning for both workers and employers because they can make the overall timeline unpredictable. That unpredictability affects job mobility, relocation decisions, and staffing plans in ways that are often difficult to resolve late in a worker’s sixth year.
Against that backdrop, the 2025–2026 policy changes add new pressures that can reshape decisions around hiring, retention and timing. A new high entry fee for certain new overseas H-1B petitions, imposed through a presidential proclamation, can raise the cost of bringing in a worker who is outside the United States, while leaving many in-country extensions and change-of-status cases outside that specific fee requirement.
USCIS will also shift from a random selection model to a weighted selection approach that favors higher-paid positions, tying selection odds more closely to wage levels. The change signals that employers may need to think differently about compensation bands, job classifications and budgeting when planning cap-season registrations, especially for candidates transitioning from OPT or STEM OPT who have limited time to secure H-1B status.
DHS also ended automatic EAD extensions for many categories, a move that can affect dependent spouses and other EAD holders who previously relied on automatic extension periods to avoid employment gaps while renewal applications processed. The practical effect is that more households may need to manage renewal timing and document delivery more carefully to prevent interruptions in work authorization.
Those shifts feed back into six-year planning because the cost and selection environment can influence whether an employer pursues an overseas hire, whether a worker can transition from student work authorization into H-1B, and whether a family can count on uninterrupted work permission for an H-4 spouse while the principal worker extends H-1B time through a Green Card track.
USCIS and DHS have offered a rationale that emphasizes merit-based selection, integrity and stronger vetting. “The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers,” said Matthew Tragesser, USCIS Spokesman.
In a separate statement connected to the tightening of EAD continuity, a USCIS newsroom statement said:
“USCIS is placing a renewed emphasis on robust alien screening and vetting, eliminating policies. that prioritized aliens’ convenience ahead of Americans’ safety and security. All aliens must remember that working in the United States is a privilege, not a right.”
In 2026, the combined rules affect several groups at once, with the sharpest consequences falling on those closest to the Six-Year Limit without an active Green Card strategy. H-1B workers nearing year six often need a PERM or I-140 filed early enough to qualify for AC21 extensions, or an approved I-140 that supports longer extension increments when a priority date is not current.
H-4 spouses can face a higher risk of work-authorization gaps when automatic extension coverage no longer cushions renewal processing, making timing and document management more central to household planning. For families in which both incomes support a mortgage, child care or tuition, even a short disruption can reshape decisions about jobs and location.
Students transitioning from OPT or STEM OPT can face a different selection environment as wage-weighted selection becomes the governing approach. That can influence which job offers translate into stronger H-1B selection odds and how employers structure roles for early-career candidates.
Employers, meanwhile, must weigh higher costs for some new overseas hires, the probability impacts of the weighted selection system, and the timeline constraints created by the H-1B’s Six-Year Limit. For businesses that rely on specialty occupations, immigration timelines can shape not just recruitment but also retention strategy, internal transfers and project delivery.
Official information on the H-1B program appears on the USCIS H-1B Specialty Occupations page. The regulatory record for the weighted selection system appears in the Federal Register at 90 FR 60864. The White House published the Presidential Proclamation on H-1B Reform, and USCIS posted an alert on EAD automatic extension removal that outlines the agency’s change in approach to EAD renewal continuity.
Extend H-1B Visa Beyond Six-Year Limit with Green Card Steps
Recent USCIS and DHS reforms are reshaping the H-1B program by introducing a wage-weighted selection lottery and increasing costs for overseas petitions. While the six-year limit remains a critical milestone, the AC21 law allows for extensions if Green Card processes are initiated early. Workers must navigate the removal of automatic EAD extensions and higher vetting standards, making early legal strategy essential for maintaining long-term employment continuity in the U.S.
