Employment classification
H-1B Cap-Exempt Petition
Cap-exempt petitions carry every specialty occupation burden of a standard H-1B plus one more: establishing the exemption basis. For institution-of-higher-education and affiliated-nonprofit exemptions the evidentiary question is the relationship, and for third-party placement exemptions it is where the beneficiary will physically perform the work and how that furthers the exempt entity's mission.
Governing standard
Specialty occupation plus a qualifying cap-exempt employer or placement
8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(F); INA 214(g)(5)
- Denial rate after RFE
- 10.2%
- Median processing
- 65 days
- Form
- I-129
- Initial RFE rate
- 13.1%
- Median exhibit pages
- 110
- Manual assembly
- 7 hrs
- On Docket Build
- 20 min
Statutory criteria
What the record has to establish.
Each element below is a mapped criterion in the Docket Build criteria pack, with its citation and the evidence types that satisfy it.
Specialty occupation
214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)
- Duty breakdown
- Degree requirement evidence
Cap-exempt employer status
INA 214(g)(5)(A)–(B)
- Higher education accreditation
- Nonprofit affiliation agreement
- Research organisation evidence
Cap-exempt placement
214.2(h)(8)(iii)(F)(4)
- Placement letter
- Evidence the work furthers the exempt entity's mission
Beneficiary qualification
214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C)
- Degree
- Transcripts
- Licence where required
Failure modes
What actually draws a request on a H-1B Cap-Exempt.
Compiled from the request language our customers record on their own matters and from published AAO decisions in this classification.
Full RFE trends hub- Affiliation claimed without a written agreement in the record
- Placement letter that does not describe how the work furthers the exempt mission
- Nonprofit status evidence that predates a corporate reorganisation
Document checklist
What a complete filing carries.
Full printable checklist →Exemption basis
Accreditation or nonprofit determination
IRS determination letter or accreditation record
Affiliation agreementwhere applicable
Where exemption rests on affiliation with a higher education institution
Placement letter from the exempt entitywhere applicable
For third-party cap-exempt placements
Specialty occupation
Certified LCA
Wage level and worksite matching the petition
Employer support letter
Duties with time allocation and degree nexus
Degree and transcripts
In a directly related field
Forms
Form I-129 with H supplement
Cap-exempt basis box cross-checked against the exhibits
Form G-28
Executed by petitioner and attorney
Also employment
Related classifications.
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