Short, plain-language explainers on the parts of H-1B sponsorship that trip people up — the full fee stack, who is legally on the hook for which fee, and how the per-beneficiary lottery affects the odds. Then run your own numbers in the calculator.
Filing fees are less than 20% of it. Here's the whole stack — USCIS fees, attorney work, the prevailing-wage uplift, compliance overhead, and the downstream green-card track — and why Year 1 lands closer to $15k–$30k than the $5k–$7k most employers expect.
The most-violated rule online about H-1B: several fees are the employer's obligation and cannot be passed to the worker. What's prohibited, what's permitted, and what it means for the candidate side of the table.
Selection is now per-beneficiary — each candidate is picked at most once, however many employers register them. What that changed, what recent selection rates have looked like, and who skips the lottery entirely.
The H-1B sponsorship cost calculator estimates your Year-1, 3-year, and 6-year cost, the prevailing-wage uplift for your role and location, your lottery odds, and a side-by-side comparison with hiring a US worker or contracting. It runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter leaves your device.
These guides are educational and not legal or immigration advice. See our disclaimer.