The backdoor

H-1B with no lottery. Yes, it exists.

Institutions of higher education, their affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations are exempt from the H-1B cap. They can file your petition any time of year with no registration and no lottery. Most students never hear this. Here are 120 of them, ranked by H-1B volume.

Informational, not legal advice. Cap-exempt status attaches to the specific employer and role; confirm with the employer or an attorney.

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120

cap-exempt sponsors

61,831

H-1B approvals

lottery odds needed

The four cap-exempt categories

Institutions of higher education

Accredited US universities and colleges (HEA 101(a)).

Affiliated / related nonprofits

Nonprofits tied to a university by a formal written affiliation agreement.

Nonprofit research organizations

501(c)(3)/(c)(4)/(c)(6) orgs whose core work is basic or applied research.

Governmental research organizations

Federal, state, or local entities whose primary mission is research.

Cap-exempt H-1B sponsors, by volume

#	Employer	Type	Approvals	Location
1	THE LELAND STANFORD JR UNIVERSITY	Higher education	1,958	STANFORD, CA
2	MAYO CLINIC	Research organization	1,927	ROCHESTER, MN
3	UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN	Higher education	1,820	ANN ARBOR, MI
4	JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY	Higher education	1,450	BALTIMORE, MD
5	COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY	Higher education	1,390	NEW YORK, NY
6	YALE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	1,332	NEW HAVEN, CT
7	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND	Higher education	1,214	COLLEGE PARK, MD
8	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH	Higher education	1,180	PITTSBURGH, PA
9	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	Higher education	1,100	GAINESVILLE, FL
10	CLEVELAND CLINIC	Research organization	994	LAS VEGAS, NV
11	NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY	Higher education	985	EVANSTON, IL
12	THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO	Higher education	974	CHICAGO, IL
13	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA	Higher education	938	LOS ANGELES, CA
14	UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA	Higher education	926	PHILADELPHIA, PA
15	UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA	Higher education	900	CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
16	TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY	Higher education	863	COLLEGE STATION, TX
17	UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA	Higher education	850	MINNEAPOLIS, MN
18	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO	Higher education	847	LA JOLLA, CA
19	THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	839	UNIVERSITY PARK, PA
20	INDIANA UNIVERSITY	Higher education	831	BLOOMINGTON, IN
21	HARVARD UNIVERSITY	Higher education	822	CAMBRIDGE, MA
22	BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE	Higher education	813	HOUSTON, TX
23	THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	811	COLUMBUS, OH
24	UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON	Higher education	792	SEATTLE, WA
25	THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	Higher education	776	IOWA CITY, IA
26	PURDUE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	773	WEST LAFAYETTE, IN
27	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY	Higher education	750	BERKELEY, CA
28	EMORY UNIVERSITY	Higher education	749	ATLANTA, GA
29	WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST LOUIS	Higher education	748	SAINT LOUIS, MO
30	THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN	Higher education	722	AUSTIN, TX
31	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS	Higher education	714	DAVIS, CA
32	UNIVERSITY OF UTAH	Higher education	701	SALT LAKE CITY, UT
33	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	694	EAST LANSING, MI
34	NC STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	682	RALEIGH, NC
35	DANA FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE	Research organization	660	BOSTON, MA
36	WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE	Higher education	644	NEW YORK, NY
37	MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CE	Research organization	577	NEW YORK, NY
38	TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY	Higher education	573	BOSTON, MA
39	UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN	Higher education	570	LINCOLN, NE
40	ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	567	TEMPE, AZ
41	UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY	Higher education	562	LEXINGTON, KY
42	TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY	Higher education	553	LUBBOCK, TX
43	THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA	Higher education	538	NORMAN, OK
44	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	Higher education	509	NEW YORK, NY
45	TEMPLE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	476	PHILADELPHIA, PA
46	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	Higher education	467	BOSTON, MA
47	DUKE UNIVERSITY UNIV MED CTR AFFIL	Higher education	453	DURHAM, NC
48	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI	Higher education	431	MIAMI, FL
49	UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER	Higher education	425	ROCHESTER, NY
50	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO	Higher education	421	SPRINGFIELD, IL
51	UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER	Higher education	420	BOULDER, CO
52	CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY	Higher education	417	PITTSBURGH, PA
53	OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	416	PORTLAND, OR
54	MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CT	Research organization	415	NEW YORK, NY
55	CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION	Research organization	410	CLEVELAND, OH
56	MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER	Research organization	392	NEW YORK, NY
57	THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	Higher education	383	TUCSON, AZ
58	VA POLYTECHNIC INST & STATE UNIV D	Higher education	380	BLACKSBURG, VA
59	UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER	Higher education	379	AURORA, CO
60	UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO	Higher education	369	RENO, NV
61	UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI	Higher education	365	CINCINNATI, OH
62	BROAD INSTITUTE	Research organization	346	CAMBRIDGE, MA
63	BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY	Research organization	343	UPTON, NY
64	FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CE	Research organization	341	SEATTLE, WA
65	OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	330	CORVALLIS, OR
66	MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN	Higher education	325	MILWAUKEE, WI
67	WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	325	WICHITA, KS
68	WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY	Higher education	325	MORGANTOWN, WV
69	CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	323	CLEVELAND, OH
70	FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	322	TALLAHASSEE, FL
71	THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA OIE	Higher education	318	ATHENS, GA
72	AUBURN UNIVERSITY	Higher education	311	AUBURN, AL
73	CLEMSON UNIVERSITY	Higher education	311	CLEMSON, SC
74	VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY	Higher education	310	RICHMOND, VA
75	CORNELL UNIVERSITY	Higher education	302	ITHACA, NY
76	W M RICE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	301	HOUSTON, TX
77	BROWN UNIVERSITY	Higher education	295	PROVIDENCE, RI
78	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE	Higher education	292	RIVERSIDE, CA
79	WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	288	DETROIT, MI
80	UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM	Higher education	285	BIRMINGHAM, AL
81	DUKE UNIVERSITY UNIV MED CTR & AFF	Higher education	279	DURHAM, NC
82	MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	272	MISS STATE UNIV, MS
83	UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON	Higher education	268	HOUSTON, TX
84	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA	Higher education	268	TAMPA, FL
85	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES	Higher education	266	LOS ANGELES, CA
86	COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	264	FORT COLLINS, CO
87	THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY	Higher education	264	NEW YORK, NY
88	UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	Higher education	263	ALBUQUERQUE, NM
89	RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	Higher education	258	LOS ANGELES, CA
90	TUFTS UNIVERSITY	Higher education	254	MEDFORD, MA
91	OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	253	STILLWATER, OK
92	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY	Higher education	253	NASHVILLE, TN
93	STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO	Higher education	240	ALBANY, NY
94	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CH	Higher education	240	CHAPEL HILL, NC
95	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE	Higher education	237	BOSTON, MA
96	THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY	Higher education	235	PRINCETON, NJ
97	GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY	Higher education	233	WASHINGTON, DC
98	THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS	Higher education	230	RICHARDSON, TX
99	UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS	Higher education	229	FAYETTEVILLE, AR
100	UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE	Higher education	228	LOUISVILLE, KY
101	THE SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE	Research organization	225	LA JOLLA, CA
102	TULANE UNIVERSITY	Higher education	225	NEW ORLEANS, LA
103	UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MED CENTER	Higher education	222	LINCOLN, NE
104	RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE	Higher education	220	TROY, NY
105	BOSTON COLLEGE	Higher education	220	BRIGHTON, MA
106	THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS	Higher education	218	LAWRENCE, KS
107	UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII	Higher education	218	HONOLULU, HI
108	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NJ	Higher education	213	NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ
109	THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS M D ANDERSON CANCER CENTER	Higher education	212	HOUSTON, TX
110	THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY	Higher education	210	PHILADELPHIA, PA
111	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA	Higher education	209	COLUMBIA, SC
112	UNIVERSITY CENTRAL FLORIDA	Higher education	206	ORLANDO, FL
113	SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY	Higher education	205	ST LOUIS, MO
114	UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON	Higher education	204	MADISON, WI
115	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CTR	Higher education	200	NASHVILLE, TN
116	UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE	Higher education	196	NEWARK, DE
117	UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC	Higher education	194	NOTRE DAME, IN
118	UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO	Higher education	192	TOLEDO, OH
119	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LA	Higher education	191	LOS ANGELES, CA
120	LOUISIANA STATE UNIV & A&M COLLEGE	Higher education	187	BATON ROUGE, LA

Classified by employer name from USCIS H-1B data. A match is a strong signal, not a legal determination. You can also work cap-exempt while a separate cap-subject employer files a concurrent H-1B for you.

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