On March 31, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory H-1B visa “cap” for fiscal year (FY) 2026. The announcement states:
“[USCIS] has received enough electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). We have randomly selected enough beneficiaries with properly submitted registrations projected as needed to reach the H-1B cap and have notified all prospective petitioners with selected beneficiaries that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for such beneficiaries.
Registrants’ online accounts will display a registration status. For more information, visit the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page.
H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2026, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may be filed with USCIS beginning April 1, 2025, if filed for a selected beneficiary and based on a valid registration. Only petitioners with registrations for selected beneficiaries may file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2026.
An H-1B cap-subject petition must be properly filed at the correct filing location or online at my.uscis.gov and within the filing period indicated on the relevant selection notice. The period for filing the H-1B cap-subject petition will be at least 90 days. Petitioners must include a copy of the applicable selection notice with the FY 2026 H-1B cap-subject petition.”
In some prior years additional selection processes took place in the summer and fall to make unused H-1B visas available. USCIS has not yet announced whether and when an additional selection might take place in 2025 (FY 2026).
© Jewell Stewart Pratt Beckerson & Carr PC 2025