FY 2028 cap season · DOL wage year 2026–27
Your salary now decides your H-1B lottery odds.
USCIS weights the lottery by wage level. Level IV gets four entries, Level I gets one. Check your level, your entries and what it takes to reach the next one.
Your SOC code must match your actual duties. Your employer or attorney picks it, so ask which one is on your LCA.
Same job, same $150,000 offer, three different lottery outcomes.
What is the H-1B weighted lottery?
Updated 2026-10-14 · Sources: DHS, USCIS, DOL
The H-1B weighted lottery is the selection process USCIS has used for cap-subject H-1B registrations since the FY 2027 season, under a DHS final rule effective February 27, 2026. Instead of one entry per person, a registration is entered once for every wage level its offered salary reaches: one entry at Level I, two at Level II, three at Level III and four at Level IV. The level is the highest Department of Labor OEWS prevailing wage the salary meets for the job's SOC code and work location, so the same salary can land at different levels in different cities. DHS projected selection odds of about 15%, 31%, 46% and 61% for Levels I to IV. In FY 2027, USCIS received 211,600 eligible registrations, 38.5% fewer than the year before. The FY 2028 registration is expected in March 2027 and will use the 2026–27 wage tables shown on this site.
Built on official DOL wage tables
Every number comes from the Department of Labor's OFLC data, effective July 1, 2026, the year that applies to the FY 2028 registration.
Where $150,000 earns four entries
Software Developers: the level a $150,000 offer reaches in each major H-1B metro. Hover a dot for details.
- Below Level I
- Level I
- Level II
- Level III
- Level IV
How the weighted lottery works
Three rules decide how many times your registration goes into the draw.
Salary sets your level
Your offered salary is compared with DOL's four wage levels for your job's SOC code and work location.
Level sets your entries
Level I goes into the draw once and Level IV four times. Below Level I counts as one entry.
Location changes everything
Thresholds differ by metro. The same salary can be below Level I in San Jose and Level IV in Detroit.
Projected selection odds by level
DHS final rule, 90 FR 60864
Projections from five years of past registrations. FY 2027 registrations fell 38.5% to 211,600, so realized odds last season ran higher.
Three details that change your odds
- Master's degree. U.S. advanced-degree holders get a second draw for the 20,000 master's cap.
- Multiple worksites. The lowest level among all your work locations counts.
- Several employers. USCIS uses the lowest level across every registration filed for you.
Popular wage tables
All 848 occupations- Software Developers
- Computer Systems Analysts
- Data Scientists
- Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
- Computer Occupations, All Other
- Information Security Analysts
- Database Administrators
- Database Architects
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators
- Computer Network Architects
- Computer and Information Research Scientists
- Web Developers
Top H-1B cities
All 530 areasGuides
All guidesHow the H-1B weighted lottery works
The H-1B lottery now gives 1 to 4 entries based on your wage level. How levels are set, projected odds per level, the master's cap, and what changed in FY 2027.
GuideH-1B wage levels I–IV, explained
What H-1B prevailing wage Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 mean, which percentile each one sits at, how DOL calculates them from OEWS data, and why they differ by city.
GuideLottery wage level vs. LCA wage level
Your LCA wage level comes from the job's requirements. Your lottery level comes from the salary you are offered. How the two relate, and why the numbers must stay consistent.
Frequently asked questions
The weighted selection rule in plain English.
How does the weighted H-1B lottery work?
Since the FY 2027 cap season, USCIS enters each registration into the selection pool once per wage level: Level I gets 1 entry, Level II gets 2, Level III gets 3 and Level IV gets 4. The level is the highest DOL OEWS prevailing-wage level that the offered salary meets or exceeds for the job's SOC code and work location.
What are my odds at each level?
DHS projected a selection probability of about 15.29% for Level I, 30.58% for Level II, 45.87% for Level III and 61.16% for Level IV (final rule, 90 FR 60864). Real odds depend on how many people register: FY 2027 registrations fell 38.5% to 211,600, so actual rates last season were higher across the board.
What if my salary is below Level I?
That can happen when an employer relies on a prevailing wage from a source other than OEWS, such as a private survey. Such a registration is entered once, the same as Level I.
What if I will work in more than one location?
The lowest wage level among all your worksites counts. If the same person is registered by several employers, USCIS uses the lowest level across all of those registrations.
Does a master's degree still help?
Yes. USCIS first selects from all registrations, master's holders included, for the regular cap. It then selects from the remaining U.S. advanced-degree registrations for the 20,000 master's cap, so they get two chances. The wage-level weighting applies in both rounds.
Which data does this use?
The official DOL OFLC wage tables for July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027, the same data behind the FLAG Wage Search. This is the year that applies to the FY 2028 registration in March 2027.
Registration is expected in March 2027.
Know your level before your employer files, and see where your salary goes further.