While Fiscal Year 2025 just began Oct. 1 for employers, they should look ahead to Fiscal Year 2026’s H-1B season and its accompanying lottery as changes are on the horizon.
For those new to the H-1B lottery, the annual regular limitation for the allotment of visas in the H-1B category is 65,000, with an additional 20,000 H-1B visas available to graduates of U.S. master’s degree programs. Of the 65,000 H-1B visas allocated to the “regular cap,” 6,800 are set aside each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program designated for the temporary employment of workers from Chile and Singapore), with any unused visas becoming available for H-1B use for the next fiscal year’s regular H-1B cap.
Since the launch of the electronic H-1B registration system by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2020, the fee per individual lottery registration has been $10. In Fiscal Year 2026, which will officially kick off with registration in March 2025, the fee will increase to $215.
Employer Preparations for Fiscal Year 2026 H-1B Season
Barnes & Thornburg | Oct 2024
H-1B Cap Season
USCIS
Organizational Accounts
Press release: USCIS to Launch Organizational Accounts, Enabling Online Collaboration and Submission of H-1B Registrations
FAQs: Organizational Accounts Frequently Asked Questions
USCIS | Jan 2024
Additional Law Firm Articles
Employers that plan to sponsor foreign workers should be prepared as H-1B season begins. Federal officials just announced that the registration process for FY 2026 is expected to open at noon Eastern on March 7 and run through noon Eastern on March 24.
Federal Immigration Officials Announce H-1B Cap Registration Updates: 4 Key Points for Employers
Fisher Phillips | Feb 2025
USCIS also announced enhancements to the organizational account system it launched last year, including the following:
- The ability for a paralegal to work with more than one legal representative. This will allow a paralegal account to prepare H-1B registrations, H-1B petitions, and requests for premium processing for multiple attorneys (representatives) within the legal team organizational account.
- An easier process for legal representatives to add paralegals to different company clients.
- The ability to upload a spreadsheet of H-1B beneficiary data into the system, allowing for that data to prepopulate into H-1B registrations.
- Prepopulation of some data from an H-1B registration into fields within Form I-129 (if prepared online).
FY 2026 H-1B Cap Lottery Alert: Registration Period and Important Changes to USCIS Online System
Ogletree | Feb 2025
On December 18, 2024, the DHS, through the USCIS, published a Final Rule seeking to modernize and improve H-1B program efficiencies, clarify H-1B requirements, provide greater benefits and flexibilities for petitioners and beneficiaries, and strengthen program integrity measures. The Final Rule will cement long-anticipated regulatory changes on January 17, 2025, just three days before Inauguration Day. The Final Rule will impact employer strategy and procedure in the H-1B program, and an updated version of the Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker will be required for submission of any H-1B petitions as of January 17, 2025.
DHS Issues Final Rules on H-1B Petitions and EAD Applications, Effective Mid-January
Morgan Lewis | Jan 2025
For fiscal year 2026, the H-1B registration fee has increased to $215 per registrant. This non-refundable fee is necessary to participate in the H-1B electronic registration process and remains unchanged regardless of lottery selection. Previously, the fee was only $10. The increase reflects the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) efforts to cover increasing administrative costs.
H-1B LOTTERY SEASON FISCAL YEAR 2026: UPDATES AND DEADLINES YOU NEED TO KNOW
Whiteman | Jan 2025
Congress has set an annual cap of 65,000 visas per year (commonly referred to as the "regular cap") plus an additional 20,000 reserved for individuals with a U.S. master's degree or higher from a qualifying institution of higher education (commonly referred to as the "advanced degree cap").
The demand for H-1B visas is expected to exceed the supply. Last year, the USCIS received 470,342 registrations for only 85,000 available visas, with a selection rate of 28.73 percent.
H-1B lottery game plan: Best practices for HR teams
Constangy | Jan 2025
In preparation for the H-1B registration period, the best practice for employers is to review records of current and prospective non-U.S. workers to identify those eligible for H-1B status for FY 2026, which begins on Oct. 1, 2025. Such individuals include, but are not limited to:
- Students, recent hires, or paid interns who hold F-1 visa status and are working under Optional Practical Training (OPT) or STEM OPT employment authorization. Employers may also include incoming new hires who will otherwise be eligible for H-1B status based upon an anticipated degree completion date in spring 2025.
- Certain L-1 intracompany transferees who are limited by time restrictions in their respective L-1 category
- Prospective non-U.S. worker employees who qualify for H-1B status but have not previously held H-1B status
- Certain E-3 and H-1B1 visa holders and spouses in H-4, L-2, or E-2 status
Employer Preparations for Fiscal Year 2026 H-1B Season
Barnes | Oct 2024
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