U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will open at noon ET on March 7, 2025, and run through noon ET on March 24, 2025. During this time, employers and their legal representatives must register each beneficiary through their USCIS online account and pay the $215 registration fee. The number of H-1B visas available each fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) is limited to 65,000 for the Regular H-1B Cap, plus up to an additional 20,000 for candidates with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. university (U.S. Master’s Cap). Over the past several years USCIS has received significantly more registrations than available H-1B numbers.  

Once the registration period has closed, USCIS will apply random numeric selection processes (“lotteries”) to select registrations, first under the Regular H-1B Cap and then under the U.S. Master’s Cap. USCIS intends to notify by March 31, 2025, prospective petitioners and representatives whose accounts have at least one registration selected. Petitioners with selected registrations may proceed with filing H-1B petitions during the designated filing period, likely April 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025, seeking an October 1, 2025 start date.  

Properly submitted registrations that are not selected in the initial lottery rounds will remain in the system as valid registrations with their statuses designated as “Submitted” for the remainder of the fiscal year. These remaining submissions will be available for selection in the future if the current fiscal year cap reopens. The cap could reopen if a high number of registrations do not result in actual filings with USCIS during the 90-day filing window or if H-1B petitions are denied.  

Foster will continue to monitor updates regarding the FY 2026 H-1B cap filing season and will make future updates available as appropriate via our firm website at www.fosterglobal.com.