U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B Cap will begin at noon Eastern on March 7, 2025, and will remain open until noon Eastern on March 24, 2025.
During this period, employers can register each beneficiary for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary electronically. By March 31, USCIS will notify employers of their selections via their online accounts. Selected beneficiaries will have 90 days to submit their H-1B petitions to USCIS for a visa start date of October 1.
Key Changes for FY 2026
- Registration Fee Increased to $215 per registrant.
- Beneficiary-Centric Selection Process:
For FY2026 H-1B cap, USCIS will continue using the beneficiary-centric process introduced last year. Under the beneficiary-centric process, registrations are selected by unique beneficiary rather than by registration. If USCIS receives registrations for enough unique beneficiaries by March 24, they will randomly select unique beneficiaries and send selection notifications via users’ USCIS online accounts. If they do not receive registrations for enough unique beneficiaries, all registrations for unique beneficiaries that were properly submitted in the initial registration period will be selected. Prospective petitioners and representatives whose accounts have at least one registration selected will be notified by March 31.
What Employers Should Do Now
Your organization should identify the H-1B beneficiaries as soon as possible to successfully register by the March 24th deadline. Potential H-1B candidates in your current workforce include:
- Recent graduates working under their Optional Practical Training (“OPT”)
- L-1B or R-1 employees
- Individuals in TN or E status for whom you wish to pursue green cards
- J-1 trainees
- Foreign national employees who were not previously selected during a prior lottery
If you are unsure which of your employees may require a H-1B visa, you should seek guidance from counsel.
As always, the immigration professionals at SGR are ready and available to address any questions about the H-1B process and can assist you efficiently to maximize the chances of grabbing one of those coveted H-1B visas.