If you’re a Singapore citizen with a US job offer, the visa your employer files will probably be an H-1B1 rather than a regular H-1B, even though the two cover the same kinds of jobs. Confusing one for the other is a common way to lose a few months. Here’s where they diverge.

Who can use each one

H-1B is open to any nationality. H-1B1 came out of the free trade agreements the US signed with Singapore and Chile, so only citizens of those two countries can use it. If you hold a Singapore passport, H-1B1 is almost always the right filing for you.

No lottery

Regular H-1B has a hard annual cap that gets oversubscribed every year, so USCIS runs a random lottery. Plenty of well-qualified people never get selected. Nothing on their résumé is the problem; the draw is.

H-1B1 has its own quota of 5,400 visas a year set aside for Singapore citizens, separate from the regular H-1B cap. It has never come close to being filled. There is no lottery and no March registration deadline to plan your year around. If you’re eligible and someone wants to hire you, your employer files.

Filing: consular versus USCIS

The standard H-1B route means your employer files an I-129 petition with USCIS, and you wait for approval before you can even book a visa appointment. That usually takes months, and longer if the case picks up a request for additional evidence.

H-1B1 skips the petition entirely if you’re applying from outside the US. Your employer files a Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor, you fill in a DS-160, and you sit for an interview at the US embassy. Three to six weeks start to finish is normal. The full step-by-step process is in our H-1B1 guide.

Cost splits the same way. H-1B1 consular processing runs about S$247 in government fees. A USCIS-routed H-1B petition runs US$2,000 or more before anyone bills you for a lawyer.

How long it lasts

H-1B is normally granted in increments of up to three years, with a six-year ceiling overall (there are exceptions once a green card application is already moving).

H-1B1 comes one year at a time. There’s no lifetime cap, which sounds like the better deal until you notice that every renewal is a fresh application rather than an extension. In practice, expect a round of paperwork every year for as long as you stay.

Intent to stay

H-1B allows dual intent outright. You can pursue a green card while holding the visa and it won’t count against you. H-1B1 has no equivalent provision, and applicants are generally expected to show non-immigrant intent, meaning real ties back to Singapore, at each renewal. That’s the price of the faster, cheaper route. If a green card is anywhere in your plans, raise it with an immigration attorney early rather than three renewals in.

The filing detail that trips people up

H-1B1 and H-1B share the same underlying LCA form, so counsel who hasn’t handled an H-1B1 before can file yours as a plain H-1B without noticing. The LCA has to carry the visa classification “H-1B1 Singapore” to be processed correctly. It’s a small box that is easy to miss, so flag it early if your employer’s legal team hasn’t sponsored one of these before.

Which one will your employer file?

You don’t get to pick. It comes down to your citizenship and what your employer’s lawyers do with the paperwork. What does help is knowing which companies have filed H-1B1 LCAs in the past, since that usually means their HR and legal teams have already run the process at least once. Browse companies with an H-1B1 filing history, or explore roles by title to see where the filings cluster.

This article covers the general differences between H-1B1 and H-1B for information only, and it isn’t legal advice. Rules change and individual cases vary, so talk to a qualified immigration attorney about your own situation.