March 31, 2026
On March 31, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory H1B visa “cap” for fiscal year (FY) 2027. The announcement states:
“[USCIS] has received enough electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year 2027 H1B numerical allocations (known as the H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap).
USCIS selected enough beneficiaries with properly submitted registrations to reach the H1B cap and notified all prospective petitioners with selected beneficiaries that they are eligible to file an H1B cap-subject petition for those beneficiaries. Registrants’ online accounts will display their registration status. For more information, visit the H1B Electronic Registration Process page.
H1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2027, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may be filed with USCIS beginning April 1, 2026, if filed for a selected beneficiary and based on a valid registration. Only petitioners with registrations for selected beneficiaries may file H1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2027.
An H1B 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 H1B cap-subject petition will be at least 90 days. Petitioners must include a copy of the applicable selection notice with the FY 2027 H1B cap-subject petition.”
In some prior years additional selection processes took place in the summer and fall to make unused H1B visas available. USCIS has not yet announced whether and when an additional selection might take place in 2026 (FY 2027).
Chris Beckerson © Jewell Stewart Pratt Beckerson & Carr PC 2026
