What is the H-1B denial rate?

There is no fixed denial rate for the H-1B. Approval and denial figures shift from year to year and depend on each petition’s profile, so any pinned percentage quickly becomes outdated and is more misleading than helpful.

To understand the topic, it helps to separate two stages that are often confused:

• Selection (lottery): when there are more registrations than available slots, many petitions are never reviewed at all. Not being selected is not a technical denial — it simply means the petition was not chosen in the selection process.
• Merit review: among petitions that are actually adjudicated, denial typically occurs when the employer and applicant do not clearly demonstrate that the position and candidate profile meet the visa requirements.

In practice, well-documented petitions with a clearly specialized role and a consistent employment relationship tend to perform better at the adjudication stage. Weak documentation or poorly answered requests for evidence increase the risk of denial.

Because official figures vary and are updated periodically, the safest approach is to check current statistics and requirements directly from the official source (USCIS) and, if you need to strengthen your case, consult an immigration professional.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.