H-1B Cap-Exempt Sponsors

Browse H-1B cap-exempt employers including universities, hospitals, and research institutions. No lottery required — these employers can sponsor H-1B visas year-round.

200

Cap-Exempt Employers

No Lottery

Year-Round Filing

Universities

Hospitals & Research

What is H-1B Cap Exemption?

The H-1B visa program has an annual cap of 85,000 new visas. However, certain employers are exempt from this cap, meaning their sponsored workers don't need to go through the competitive H-1B lottery. This is a significant advantage for both employers and international workers, as it eliminates the uncertainty of the lottery process and allows petitions to be filed at any time during the year.

Cap-exempt employers are defined under INA Section 214(g)(5) and include institutions of higher education, nonprofit entities related to institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental research organizations.

Types of Cap-Exempt Employers

Category	Examples	Cap-Exempt Status
Universities & Colleges	Stanford, MIT, State Universities	Fully exempt for positions at the institution
University-Affiliated Nonprofits	University hospitals, research foundations	Exempt if related to or affiliated with a university
Nonprofit Research Orgs	NIH, research institutes	Exempt if primarily engaged in research
Government Research Orgs	National labs, federal research agencies	Fully exempt
Teaching Hospitals	Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital	May be exempt if affiliated with a university

Cap-Exempt vs Cap-Subject: Key Differences

Feature	Cap-Exempt	Cap-Subject
H-1B Lottery	Not Required	Required
Filing Window	Year-round	April 1 start date only
Annual Limit	No limit	85,000 per year
Processing	Straightforward	Lottery uncertainty
Typical Employers	Universities, hospitals, research	Tech companies, consulting firms

Cap-Exempt Employer Directory

Below are employers identified as cap-exempt based on their institutional type, NAICS classification, and H-1B filing patterns.

#	Employer	Category	H-1B Filings	Avg Salary	Approval Rate
1	University of Michigan	University	196	$92k	N/A
2	Washington University	University	163	$91k	N/A
3	Johns Hopkins University	University	156	$91k	N/A
4	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	University	145	$130k	N/A
5	TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA	University	141	$99k	N/A
6	The Leland Stanford, Jr University	University	127	$112k	N/A
7	Purdue University	University	115	$89k	N/A
8	UT Southwestern Medical Center	Hospital	113	$1,506k	N/A
9	University of Wisconsin System	University	108	$78k	N/A
10	Columbia University	University	105	$3,325k	N/A
11	University of California, San Francisco	University	104	$1,709k	N/A
12	ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL	Hospital	102	$87k	N/A
13	Mayo Clinic	Hospital	102	$177k	N/A
14	The University of Alabama at Birmingham	University	99	$103k	N/A
15	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	University	98	$100k	N/A
16	The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center	University	97	$134k	N/A
17	The University of Southern California	University	94	$95k	N/A
18	Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University	University	90	$86k	N/A
19	University of Illinois	University	89	$91k	N/A
20	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	University	87	$108k	N/A
21	Emory University	University	86	$81k	N/A
22	Harvard University	University	85	$93k	N/A
23	University of Minnesota	University	84	$227k	N/A
24	General Hospital Corporation	Hospital	82	$159k	N/A
25	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	University	81	$103k	N/A
26	Yale University	University	80	$101k	N/A
27	Texas A&M University	University	79	$93k	N/A
28	University of California, Los Angeles	University	79	$116k	N/A
29	The University of Virginia	University	77	$86k	N/A
30	The Ohio State University	University	77	$95k	N/A
31	The University of Texas at Austin	University	77	$107k	N/A
32	University of Maryland College Park	University	75	$3,709k	N/A
33	The Pennsylvania State University	University	74	$94k	N/A
34	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI	University	73	$373k	N/A
35	Northwestern University	University	72	$91k	N/A
36	The University of Chicago	University	71	$95k	N/A
37	Baylor College of Medicine	University	68	$143k	N/A
38	North Carolina State University	University	68	$84k	N/A
39	The Trustees of Princeton University	University	67	$96k	N/A
40	University of Rochester	University	67	$104k	N/A
41	The Curators of the University of Missouri	University	65	$78k	N/A
42	The University of Iowa	University	64	$170k	N/A
43	CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	University	62	$89k	N/A
44	University of California, Davis	University	61	$117k	N/A
45	Cornell University	University	59	$123k	N/A
46	Arizona State University	University	59	$86k	N/A
47	NYU Grossman School of Medicine	University	59	$133k	N/A
48	West Virginia University	University	59	$112k	N/A
49	Indiana University	University	58	$80k	N/A
50	Duke University	University	56	$3,641k	N/A
51	Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey	University	56	$106k	N/A
52	University of California, Berkeley	University	56	$95k	N/A
53	New York University	University	55	$117k	N/A
54	University of Pittsburgh	University	54	$85k	N/A
55	Brigham and Women's Hospital	Hospital	54	$84k	N/A
56	University of Utah	University	53	$147k	N/A
57	THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE	University	52	$95k	N/A
58	Indiana University Indianapolis	University	50	$116k	N/A
59	University of Colorado Denver	University	50	$85k	N/A
60	University of Illinois Chicago	University	50	$113k	N/A
61	Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska	University	48	$77k	N/A
62	The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia	Hospital	47	$73k	N/A
63	The University of Arizona	University	47	$98k	N/A
64	University of South Florida	University	47	$92k	N/A
65	The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston	University	46	$110k	N/A
66	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL	University	46	$113k	N/A
67	University of Colorado	University	45	$93k	N/A
68	Georgetown University	University	45	$90k	N/A
69	University of Washington	University	45	$118k	N/A
70	TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY	University	44	$119k	N/A
71	Oregon State University	University	44	$70k	N/A
72	Weill Cornell Medical College	University	43	$110k	N/A
73	Guthrie Lourdes Hospital	Hospital	42	$81k	N/A
74	Georgia Institute of Technology	University	42	$87k	N/A
75	Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.	Research	40	$115k	N/A
76	The Florida State University	University	39	$95k	N/A
77	California Department of Transportation	Nonprofit	38	$96k	N/A
78	Cleveland Clinic Foundation	Hospital	38	$234k	N/A
79	Vanderbilt University	University	38	$89k	N/A
80	Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center	Hospital	37	$5,997k	N/A
81	Oregon Health & Science University	University	36	$166k	N/A
82	West Virginia University Medical Corporation	University	36	$328k	N/A
83	Children's Hospital Corporation	Hospital	35	$101k	N/A
84	Ochsner Clinic Foundation	Hospital	34	$94k	N/A
85	Iowa State University of Science and Technology	University	34	$83k	N/A
86	Carnegie Mellon University	University	34	$89k	N/A
87	Texas Tech University	University	33	$94k	N/A
88	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE	University	33	$116k	N/A
89	Albert Einstein College of Medicine	University	33	$84k	N/A
90	UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY	University	33	$97k	N/A
91	THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY	University	32	$103k	N/A
92	University of Georgia	University	32	$80k	N/A
93	University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, PC	University	31	$253k	N/A
94	Louisiana Children's Medical Center	Hospital	31	$67k	N/A
95	Michigan State University	University	31	$95k	N/A
96	University of Maryland Baltimore	University	31	$132k	N/A
97	The University of Texas at Arlington	University	30	$86k	N/A
98	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	University	29	$82k	N/A
99	University of California at Santa Barbara	University	29	$101k	N/A
100	W.M. RICE UNIVERSITY	University	29	$230k	N/A
101	University of Hawaii	University	29	$112k	N/A
102	University of Houston	University	29	$99k	N/A
103	The Methodist Hospital Research Institute	Hospital	28	$78k	N/A
104	Tufts University	University	28	$101k	N/A
105	Northeastern University	University	28	$123k	N/A
106	University of Notre Dame du Lac	University	28	$92k	N/A
107	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	University	28	$161k	N/A
108	Colorado State University	University	27	$81k	N/A
109	MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER	Hospital	27	$180k	N/A
110	University of Louisville	University	27	$91k	N/A
111	University of Connecticut	University	27	$4,775k	N/A
112	Cedars-Sinai Medical Center	Hospital	27	$116k	N/A
113	H. LEE MOFFITT CANCER CENTER & RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.	Research	27	$90k	N/A
114	FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY	University	27	$122k	N/A
115	Georgia State University	University	26	$87k	N/A
116	Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc.	University	26	$214k	N/A
117	Virginia Commonwealth University	University	26	$77k	N/A
118	Trustees of Dartmouth College	University	25	$85k	N/A
119	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS	University	24	$84k	N/A
120	Case Western Reserve University	University	24	$72k	N/A
121	Washington State University	University	24	$94k	N/A
122	Texas State University	University	24	$294k	N/A
123	BOR USGA obo Augusta University	University	24	$101k	N/A
124	TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER	University	24	$66k	N/A
125	UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI	University	23	$87k	N/A
126	The College of William and Mary	University	23	$95k	N/A
127	University of Nebraska Medical Center	University	23	$5,097k	N/A
128	Louisiana State University and A&M College	University	22	$78k	N/A
129	Brown University	University	22	$87k	N/A
130	Mount Sinai Hospital	Hospital	22	$141k	N/A
131	University of Texas Medical Branch	University	22	$167k	N/A
132	New Jersey Institute of Technology	University	22	$95k	N/A
133	Temple University--A Commonwealth University	University	22	$77k	N/A
134	University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School	University	22	$78k	N/A
135	Old Dominion University	University	22	$101k	N/A
136	University of Mississippi Medical Center	University	21	$202k	N/A
137	The Unity Hospital of Rochester	Hospital	21	$99k	N/A
138	University of South Carolina	University	21	$93k	N/A
139	The University of Tennessee Health Science Center	University	21	$81k	N/A
140	University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences	University	21	$173k	N/A
141	WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY	University	21	$91k	N/A
142	Regents of the University of California at Riverside	University	20	$100k	N/A
143	Rush University Medical Center	University	20	$109k	N/A
144	University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio	University	20	$163k	N/A
145	University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group, Inc.	University	20	$542k	N/A
146	Rochester General Hospital	Hospital	20	$129k	N/A
147	Robert Packer Hospital	Hospital	20	$81k	N/A
148	Medical University of South Carolina and Affiliates	University	19	$256k	N/A
149	Mississippi State University	University	19	$79k	N/A
150	George Mason University	University	19	$108k	N/A
151	The University of Alabama	University	19	$88k	N/A
152	University of Oklahoma	University	19	$10,476k	N/A
153	The University of Texas at Dallas	University	19	$93k	N/A
154	Children's National Medical Center	Hospital	19	$124k	N/A
155	Oklahoma State University	University	19	$76k	N/A
156	Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii	University	19	$77k	N/A
157	California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory	University	19	$130k	N/A
158	University of Mississippi	University	18	$73k	N/A
159	The Scripps Research Institute	Research	18	$74k	N/A
160	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	University	18	$82k	N/A
161	Cleveland Clinic	Hospital	18	$418k	N/A
162	The University of Kansas	University	18	$76k	N/A
163	University of Massachusetts Amherst	University	18	$80k	N/A
164	University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center	University	18	$155k	N/A
165	University of Pittsburgh Physicians	University	18	$256k	N/A
166	University of Idaho	University	17	$81k	N/A
167	NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY	University	17	$78k	N/A
168	The Ohio University	University	17	$68k	N/A
169	Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope	Research	16	$84k	N/A
170	Clemson University	University	16	$78k	N/A
171	Florida Hospital Medical Group, Inc.	Hospital	16	$342k	N/A
172	The Rockefeller University	University	16	$92k	N/A
173	Kansas State University	University	16	$64k	N/A
174	UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA	University	16	$155k	N/A
175	City of Hope National Medical Center	Hospital	16	$137k	N/A
176	SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	Hospital	15	$113k	N/A
177	Auburn University	University	15	$130k	N/A
178	Saint Louis University	University	15	$85k	N/A
179	Thomas Jefferson University	University	15	$103k	N/A
180	University of Chicago	University	15	$79k	N/A
181	Research Foundation for the State University of New York	University	15	$72k	N/A
182	University of Arkansas	University	15	$66k	N/A
183	State University of New York at Stony Brook	University	14	$99k	N/A
184	Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Inc.	Hospital	14	$185k	N/A
185	The University of Phoenix, Inc.	University	14	$127k	N/A
186	University of Nevada, Reno	University	14	$76k	N/A
187	The University of Texas at San Antonio	University	14	$85k	N/A
188	The University of Memphis	University	14	$81k	N/A
189	STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO	University	14	$83k	N/A
190	Savannah College of Art and Design	University	14	$66k	N/A
191	Research Foundation of CUNY	Research	14	$86k	N/A
192	DUBOIS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER	Hospital	14	$66k	N/A
193	State University of New York, Upstate Medical University	University	13	$69k	N/A
194	Boston Medical Center Corporation	Hospital	13	$102k	N/A
195	University of Georgia; OGE	University	13	$70k	N/A
196	University of Oregon	University	13	$96k	N/A
197	UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE	University	13	$95k	N/A
198	New Mexico State University	University	13	$70k	N/A
199	RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SUNY AT BUFFALO	Research	13	$66k	N/A
200	Boise State University	University	13	$82k	N/A

How to Find Cap-Exempt Jobs

Finding employment at a cap-exempt organization is one of the most reliable paths to H-1B sponsorship. Here are strategies for identifying cap-exempt opportunities:

University job boards: Search individual university career pages or aggregators like HigherEdJobs.com
Research positions: Look for postdoc and research scientist roles at academic institutions
Teaching hospitals: Major medical centers affiliated with universities often have cap-exempt status
Federal research labs: National laboratories and government research agencies are cap-exempt
Nonprofit research: Organizations primarily engaged in basic or applied research may qualify

Frequently Asked Questions

What is H-1B cap exemption?

H-1B cap exemption means certain employers are not subject to the annual H-1B visa cap of 85,000. Employees sponsored by cap-exempt employers don't need to go through the H-1B lottery and can file petitions year-round, not just during the annual registration period.

Which employers are cap-exempt?

Cap-exempt employers include institutions of higher education (universities and colleges), nonprofit entities related to or affiliated with institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations. Hospitals affiliated with universities may also qualify.

Do I still need to meet H-1B requirements for cap-exempt jobs?

Yes. Cap exemption only removes the numerical cap limitation. You must still meet all other H-1B requirements: specialty occupation, qualifying degree, prevailing wage, and employer filing obligations.

Can I transfer from a cap-exempt to a cap-subject employer?

Yes, but you would then become subject to the cap. If you were never counted against the cap (always at cap-exempt employers), you would need to go through the lottery. If you were previously counted against the cap, you would be exempt from the cap for 6 years from your original H-1B start date.

Are all university positions cap-exempt?

Not necessarily. The position must be at or for the benefit of the institution of higher education. Research positions, teaching positions, and staff roles directly employed by the university are typically cap-exempt. Positions at for-profit entities on campus may not qualify.

What are the advantages of working at a cap-exempt employer?

Key advantages include: no lottery (guaranteed processing), ability to file year-round, no annual cap limitations, and generally more straightforward H-1B processing. Additionally, many cap-exempt employers (universities) offer PERM green card sponsorship.

Related Resources

Lottery Calculator Top Sponsors H-1B Process Guide Salary Calculator Green Card Hub Prevailing Wages