Facts checked on 9 and 23 October 2026 against the sources linked below. Rules change often — check the official page before you act. This is shared experience, not legal or financial advice.

The doors that still work

There is no job-seeker visa: a B-1 visitor may attend interviews but may not work. The routes that work for Indians in 2026 are narrower than they were:

  • F-1, then OPT, then H-1B. 12 months of OPT after a US degree, and 24 more on STEM OPT if the employer is enrolled in E-Verify. You may be unemployed for at most 90 days on OPT, 150 in total with the extension. Cap-gap keeps your status and work authorisation to 1 April while a timely H-1B petition is pending.
  • An L-1 transfer. One continuous year with the group abroad in the last three, and no lottery (L-1A). An L-2 spouse may work from day one.
  • The O-1A for people at the top of their field: a major award, or three of eight criteria.
  • A cap-exempt H-1B. Universities, their affiliated nonprofits and nonprofit or government research organisations file in any month, with no draw.

The H-1B in 2026

The cap is 65,000 a year plus 20,000 for people with a US master's or higher (cap season). Since the FY2027 season the draw is weighted by wage level: Level IV gets four entries, Level I one. Eligible registrations fell from 343,981 for FY2026 to 211,600 for FY2027 (USCIS figures). Level I offers were 17.8% of FY2027 selections, and 71.5% of those selected held an advanced degree.

The $100,000 payment. It was demanded from 21 September 2025 for workers admitted from abroad, and a proclamation of 18 September 2026 extended it on paper to 21 September 2027. Federal courts struck it down on 8 June and 30 September 2026, but a Washington, DC court upheld it in December 2025, so the courts are split and appeals are pending. It never applied to someone already in the US changing status. Read USCIS's H-1B page the week anyone files.

Who pays. A large employer spends about $3,600 in government fees before lawyers. The Department of Labor forbids deducting the petition fee, the ACWIA fee, lawyers' bills or an early-leaving penalty from your pay (Fact Sheet 62H).

Finding a sponsor

Sponsorship is public data: look a company up in the H-1B Employer Data Hub before you apply. In FY2025 Amazon had the most new H-1B approvals (4,644), then Meta (1,555), Microsoft (1,394) and Google (1,050), but 28,277 employers were approved for at least one. California, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Virginia led. Software developers earned a median $135,980 in 2025 (BLS).

Layoffs, benching and keeping status

layoffs.fyi counted 125,759 tech workers cut at 264 companies between 1 January and 6 August 2026 (report). Laid off on an H-1B, you have up to 60 consecutive days, or to the end of your I-94 if sooner, to have a new employer file, change status or leave; you may start a new job when the new petition is received. On 11 September 2026 DHS proposed removing that grace period; the current rule applies until a final rule says otherwise (summary). Keep a change-of-status plan ready. Keeping you unpaid between projects is illegal (Fact Sheet 62I).

Scams

The employer pays for the visa, and nobody can sell you a job. Walk away from paid "sponsorship", an offer letter that wants a processing or visa fee, or anyone offering to "arrange" the $100,000 payment. The FTC's advice: never pay to get a job. USCIS does not accept Western Union, MoneyGram, PayPal, Venmo or gift cards (common scams). Fake experience and proxy interviews are fraud, and the fraud finding is yours.

What to ask here

  • Which employers in your field and city are sponsoring now, and at what wage level.
  • How your OPT, STEM OPT and cap-gap timing worked.
  • What happened after a layoff: who filed, and how fast.
  • Whether an offer or a recruiter looks real.

The full guides: Jobs in the US for Indians and Indians in the US.