Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2026.
USCIS will send non-selection notices to registrants through the employer’s online accounts over the next few days. When USCIS finishes sending these non-selection notifications, the status for properly submitted registrations that it did not select for the FY 2026 H-1B numerical allocations will show:
- Not Selected: Not selected – not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration.
USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, are exempt from the FY 2026 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:
- Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
- Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
- Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
- Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in additional H-1B positions.
We anticipate the H-1B lottery registration window for FY2027 to open for 2 weeks in March 2026. Registrations selected in that lottery and related approved petitions will support an H-1B employment start date of October 1, 2026. LAC recommends initiating H-1B registration cases for next year in early January 2026 for submission in March 2026.
This update was prepared by Brianda G. Renteria, Associate Attorney, Larrabee Albi Coker LLP.
Legal Disclaimer: This is provided for informational purposes only and does not substitute for legal advice based on the circumstances of a specific matter. Immigration laws and policies change frequently, often without notice. It is therefore important to seek direct legal counsel based upon individual circumstances.