USCIS Completes H-1B Lottery

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed March 31 that registration lottery selection for the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap has been met.

Employers can now file full H-1B petitions for selected beneficiaries through June 30. The new 02/27/26 edition of Form I-129 must be used for filing.

During the H-1B cap registration period, employers submitted more than enough registrations to meet the quota of 65,000 standard H-1B cap numbers and the cap exemption of 20,000 for holders of U.S. advanced degrees. Employers have been notified of selection results.

If the agency does not receive enough H-1B cap petitions during this filing period to meet the annual limit, it may conduct one or more subsequent lottery selections to reach the limit.

Employment under an approved FY 2027 H-1B petition can begin no earlier than October 1.

“Although selection is welcome news, it does not confer H‑1B status; it merely authorizes the employer to file an H‑1B petition during the filing window,” said Michael Castiglione, an attorney in the New York City office of Akerman. “The H-1B petition must be approved by USCIS before an employee can obtain H‑1B status.”

Castiglione said that common USCIS scrutiny of H-1B petitions include whether an H-1B position qualifies as a specialty occupation; whether the worker possesses the required degree or equivalent credentials; whether a valid employer-employee relationship exists; and whether the beneficiary has maintained lawful immigration status.

In addition to those issues, recent developments introduce additional considerations for employers and employees vying for the coveted visa status.

Specialty Credential: U.S. Employment Immigration

This year’s lottery was the first subject to a new wage-weighted selection process favoring higher-skilled and higher-paid workers, meaning companies that offered higher wages saw better selection odds. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule March 27 that would increase prevailing wage rates for H-1B visa holders.

In effect, the DOL seeks to raise the minimum wages employers must pay foreign workers before the government certifies their labor applications, shifting the program toward higher-wage roles and making it more costly to sponsor entry-level or early career workers.

“Petitioning employers must use the updated petition form, which includes new data collection questions that closely track the Department of Labor’s prevailing wage determination criteria,” Castiglione said. “The inclusion of these questions suggests that USCIS may more closely examine whether the wage level listed on the labor condition application is consistent with the job requirements. As a result, careful wage selection and internal consistency across the petition will be increasingly important in FY 2027 cap filings. Employers should ensure that the chosen wage level is well supported and defensible based on the position’s actual requirements.”

It has been reported that selection notices instruct employers to attach documentation showing how the wage level was determined, adding a layer of evidentiary burden to the filing package.

Employers should also be reminded that the Sept. 2025 presidential proclamation imposing a supplemental $100,000 fee on certain new H‑1B petitions is currently scheduled to remain in effect throughout the FY 2027 cap filing window.

“Importantly, while the proclamation generally does not affect H‑1B petitions requesting a change, extension, amendment, or transfer of status for individuals already lawfully in the United States, it does apply to petitions requesting consular notification, including cases where the beneficiary is physically present in the United States but ineligible for a change or extension of status,” Castiglione said.

If for example, a change of status request from F-1 or L-1 to H-1B is dependent on consular notification, the petition may be subject to a $100,000 fee in order to be approved.