Employment · document checklist
H-1B Cap-Exempt document checklist
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)
Top RFE trigger: Affiliation asserted with no written agreement in the record
- Documents listed
- 8
- Always required
- 6
- Median exhibit pages
- 110
- Initial RFE rate
- 13.1%
The checklist
Grouped by the purpose each document serves.
Documents marked as always required belong in every filing of this type. The rest apply where the fact pattern calls for them.
Exemption basis
1 required of 3
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
3 required of 3
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
2 required of 2
Form I-129 with H supplement
Cap-exempt basis box cross-checked against the exhibits
Form G-28
Executed by petitioner and attorney
This page prints cleanly — use it as a client-facing document request list.
Failure modes
What draws a request on a H-1B Cap-Exempt.
Having every document on the list is necessary and not sufficient. These are the structural problems that produce requests even when the evidence is present.
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
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