H-1B Lottery Chance Calculator 2027

Your odds depend mainly on total registration volume, your OEWS wage level, whether you qualify for the U.S. master's cap, and how many future attempts you have. Under the FY 2027 wage-weighted process, higher wage levels get more weighted entries, so a Level IV applicant has better estimated odds than a Level I applicant in the same pool. This calculator gives an educational range, not an exact number — actual odds depend on final USCIS registration counts.

Yes — this is the key change. In older H-1B lotteries, salary did not change selection odds. Starting with the FY 2027 cap season, the wage-weighted selection process gives higher OEWS wage levels more entries in the selection pool: Level I = 1 entry, Level II = 2, Level III = 3, Level IV = 4. So a genuinely higher wage level improves your weighted odds, though it never guarantees selection.

It is the FY 2027 selection method in which each registration is weighted by the job's OEWS prevailing wage level. Instead of every registration having one equal ticket, Level I gets 1 weighted entry and Level IV gets 4. USCIS still selects beneficiaries (one person, not each duplicate registration), but higher wage levels carry proportionally more weight in the draw.

These are the four OEWS prevailing wage levels for a given SOC occupation code and area of employment. Level I is entry-level (lower prevailing wage), Level II is qualified/mid-level, Level III is experienced, and Level IV is fully competent/senior (highest prevailing wage). The level is based on the job's requirements versus the local wage distribution — not on your résumé strength.

Yes. A qualifying U.S. master's degree or higher still helps because of the 20,000-visa advanced-degree exemption, which gives you a second consideration if you are not selected in the regular 65,000 draw. But wage level now also matters — a U.S. master's applicant at Level I may not have the same practical odds as a Level III or IV applicant.

No. Under beneficiary-centric selection, the person is selected, not each duplicate registration, so multiple employers do not multiply your chances the old way. If multiple genuine registrations have different wage levels, USCIS integrity rules may use the lowest applicable wage level. Multiple genuine offers only help by giving more than one employer able to file if you are selected — confirm details with your attorney and employers.

No — H-1B lottery selection is not nationality-based. Indian applicants are affected by the same wage-level and degree rules as everyone else. Country of birth matters later, in the EB-2/EB-3 green card backlog and visa bulletin, not in the lottery selection itself.

Your OEWS prevailing wage level (I–IV) is determined by the SOC occupation code and the area of intended employment. Ask your employer or immigration attorney, or look up the wage for your role and location using DOL FLAG / OEWS wage data. It reflects the job's requirements against the local wage distribution.

The wage level must genuinely reflect the job's requirements and the actual offered wage; it is not a dial to turn for lottery advantage. Inflating a wage level without real support can create compliance and integrity problems. A legitimately higher-paying, more senior role can carry a higher wage level — but that must be real. Always work within the law and confirm with your attorney.

No. This is an educational estimate only and is not legal advice. Actual USCIS odds depend on final registration volume, the real wage-level distribution, petition withdrawals, denials, and USCIS selection behavior. Verify with USCIS, DOL wage data, your employer, and a qualified immigration attorney before relying on any figure.

Confirm your wage level is accurate, make sure your employer's registration is correct, and build a concrete backup plan — for example additional OPT/STEM OPT attempts, a cap-exempt employer, another status, or studying further for the master's cap. Low odds in one year do not mean the door is closed; more valid attempts raise your cumulative chance.

Each independent attempt compounds your cumulative chance using the approximation: chance over multiple attempts = 1 − (1 − one-year chance)^number of attempts. So even a modest single-year chance grows meaningfully over two, three, or four attempts. STEM OPT can help by giving you more valid years to re-enter the lottery.