FY2027 H-1B Registration
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2027 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 4 and run through noon Eastern on March 19, 2026. During this period, prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $215 H-1B registration fee for each registration.
<Registration Deadline>
Registration Period: noon Eastern on March 4 - noon Eastern on March 19, 2026.
USCIS intend to send selection notifications by March 31, 2026, via users’ USCIS online accounts to prospective petitioners and representatives who have at least one registration selected.
The major difference from last year will be that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will implement a "weighted selection process" that will give preference to applications with higher wages and job specialties (i.e., considered more "highly specialized") in the H-1B visa lottery assignment. The new H-1B selection process prioritizes allocating visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens to better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities of American workers.
On Sept. 19, 2025, President Trump issued a Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, an important initial step to reform the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. While the proclamation does not directly impact the electronic registration process, if a petitioner has their registration selected and is eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition, they may need to pay an additional $100,000 fee before filing the H-1B petition as a condition of eligibility. See the Presidential Proclamation on Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers section on our H-1B Specialty Occupations page for additional details.
https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations
February 2026
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Hawaii and Kentucky (inactive) attorney with Go Law Group, assisting corporations and individuals throughout the United States with a focus on immigration law. She has extensive experience in litigation, intellectual property, and patents, and is well versed in corporate law.