H
The H-1B FY 2026 cap season is now in full swing!
Yesterday, the U.S. Citizens The Of the 479,953 total registrations submitted in FY 2025, only 470,342 were eligible to participate in the lottery.Additionally, a total of 135,137 registrations were selected in FY 2025, compared to 188,400 in FY 2024.
H-1B
FY 2026 Cap
Registration Important DatesFebruary: Petitioners and registrants can begin creating H-1B registrant accounts at noon Eastern.
- March 7: H-1B registration period opens at noon Eastern.
- March 24: H-1B registration period closes at noon Eastern.
- March 31: Date by which USCIS intends to notify selected registrants.
- April 1: The earliest date that FY 2026 H-1B cap-subject petitions based on the registrations selected during the initial FY 2026 selection period may be filed.
- FY 2026 Cap Season HighlightsFY 2026 H-1B cap petitioners or their representatives must register using their USCIS online accounts by the
deadline of March 24th at noon ET
- to participate in the computer-generated lotteryThe H-1B registration fee for each electronic registration is $215 U.S. dollars
- (per beneficiary)H-1B cap selections will not take place until the initial registration period closes, so there is no requirement to register on the day the initial registration period opensLegal representatives and registrations will need to wait until
- March 7
- to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the associated feeFor more information about how to create a USCIS online account, please click here.New Beneficiary Centric H-1B Registration Process
Starting with the FY 2026 H-1B cap season, USCIS will be using a beneficiary-centric selection process to give each beneficiary an equal chance of being selected for an H-1B visa. This means that registrations will be selected by unique beneficiary, instead of by registration to meet the 65,000/20,000 annual numerical limitations for the regular cap and advanced degree exemption.
If USCIS receives enough registrations by
March 24
, they will randomly select unique beneficiaries until they reach the 65,000/20,000 annual numerical limits.How will I be notified of selection?USCIS will send electronic notices to all registrants with selected registrations that are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition on behalf of the individual named in the notice within the filing period indicated on the notice.
Selected registrants are expected to receive notification no later than March 31, 2025.
Only petitioners with selected registrations will be eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.
To learn more about the electronic registration process, please click here.
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