The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the H-1B-cao annual quota of 85,000 has been met for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 (year ending on Sept 30, 2026) and the lottery selection process has been completed. Sponsoring employers and their attorneys have been notified of the selection results and are now able to view the status of their submissions in their registration accounts.
During the H-1B-cap e-registration period, employers submitted more than enough registrations for unique beneficiaries to meet the quota of 65,000 standard H-1B cap numbers and the cap exemption of 20,000 for holders of US advanced degrees, said USCIS. As mentioned earlier by TOI, this year’s e-registration was the first to be covered by the higher fee of $ 215 as opposed to $ 10 earlier. The immigration agency has not disclosed further details such as the total number of eligible e-registrations received.
For those selected in the lottery, USCIS will begin to accept H-1B cap applications from sponsoring employers on April 1, 2025. The petition filing period can end no earlier than 90 days thereafter.
Also Read: H-1B selection for FY 2026 complete: Here’s how to check your status
Indians are major H-1B beneficiaries. In fiscal 2023, they accounted for 68,825 (58%) of initial employment visas and 2.10 lakh (79%) of extensions, far outpacing China, the second-largest source, with significantly lower allotments of 16,094 and 29,250, respectively.
Mitch Wexler, senior counsel at Fragomen, a global immigration law firm explained, “Though in most cases a H-1B cap application can be filed at any point during the filing period, some cases may need to be filed at specific times. If the beneficiary (individual who is sponsored for the H-1B cap visa) is an F-1 student working on optional practical training (OPT) who will need cap-gap protection, the application must be filed before his or her OPT employment authorization document expires. If the beneficiary is awaiting completion or award of a required degree, the application must not be filed until the degree has been issued or the beneficiary has obtained documentation from the appropriate school official that degree requirements have been satisfied.”
If a beneficiary was not selected in this lottery, they will remain in the registration system for consideration for selection in a subsequent lottery, if any. In last year’s H-1B cap season, USCIS conducted two lottery selections. In FY 2024, USCIS also conducted two lottery selections whereas FY 2023 only had one lottery selection.
