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H-1B cap-exempt employers

The 782 cap-exempt H-1B sponsors in our DOL data, ranked by filing volume: 520 in higher education, 171 university-affiliated hospitals, 91 research organizations & national labs.

Which employers are H-1B cap-exempt (no lottery)?

H-1B cap-exempt employers sponsor WITHOUT the annual lottery and can file year-round: institutions of higher education (universities and colleges), nonprofits affiliated with them (university hospitals, research foundations), and nonprofit or government research organizations. By H-1B volume the largest include University of Michigan, Stanford University, Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai Health System, and Johns Hopkins University. If you missed the wage-weighted cap lottery, a cap-exempt employer is a no-lottery path.

Cap-exempt status is decided per employer by USCIS on nonprofit status, higher-ed affiliation, or research mission. This ranks sponsors in the cap-exempt categories from their DOL name + industry code; a specific employer (especially a hospital) may not qualify, so confirm with the employer or an attorney before relying on it.
#Employer & categoryH-1B filings
1University of MichiganHigher ed5,2962Stanford UniversityHigher ed4,6423Mayo ClinicHigher ed4,5424Mount Sinai Health SystemHospital3,8115Johns Hopkins UniversityHigher ed3,6446University of PennsylvaniaHigher ed3,2727Washington UniversityHigher ed3,1178Columbia UniversityHigher ed3,0509University of California, San FranciscoHigher ed2,87310Massachusetts General HospitalHospital2,80111Emory UniversityHigher ed2,76112University of PittsburghHigher ed2,73813National Institutes of Health, HHSResearch / lab2,70214Northwestern UniversityHigher ed2,55415University of FloridaHigher ed2,54916Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterHospital2,53217Yale UniversityHigher ed2,52618Indiana UniversityHigher ed2,48819University of IowaHigher ed2,48120UT Southwestern Medical CenterHospital2,44721University of ChicagoHigher ed2,44422Harvard UniversityHigher ed2,39623University of MinnesotaHigher ed2,37524St. Jude Children's Research HospitalHospital2,37325Duke UniversityHigher ed2,28626Purdue UniversityHigher ed2,28127University of Alabama at BirminghamHigher ed2,21528University of Wisconsin SystemHigher ed2,18429Texas A&M UniversityHigher ed2,15530New York UniversityHigher ed2,11131Oak Ridge National LaboratoryResearch / lab2,08332Ohio State UniversityHigher ed2,05233University of California, San DiegoHigher ed2,02434University of California, Los AngelesHigher ed1,98935Princeton UniversityHigher ed1,93336University of VirginiaHigher ed1,91537University of Southern CaliforniaHigher ed1,90138Penn State University ParkHigher ed1,89539Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyHigher ed1,86940University of ArkansasHigher ed1,84741Rutgers UniversityHigher ed1,82342Baylor College of MedicineHigher ed1,82243University of UtahHigher ed1,81844University of Texas at AustinHigher ed1,79145University of WashingtonHigher ed1,78046University of IllinoisHigher ed1,77547University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHospital1,73248Brigham and Women's HospitalHospital1,73049University of California, DavisHigher ed1,69950Michigan State UniversityHigher ed1,68751University of ColoradoHigher ed1,65552University of California, BerkeleyHigher ed1,63953Henry Ford Health SystemHospital1,63954University of MissouriHigher ed1,60555Battelle Memorial InstituteResearch / lab1,59256Arizona State UniversityHigher ed1,53157Weill Cornell Medical CollegeHigher ed1,52458University of MarylandHigher ed1,52159Cornell UniversityHigher ed1,51160Brookhaven National LaboratoryResearch / lab1,499

Cap-exempt eligibility here is a proxy from the employer's name + dominant NAICS industry code (higher-ed = NAICS 6112/6113; research = 5417 + research names; hospitals by name), excluding K-12 school districts, for-profit hospital chains, health-IT vendors, staffing firms, and for-profit pharma.