HR Legalist

USCIS Announces Registration Period for FY 2026 H-1B Cap Lottery Season

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap season lottery will open at 12pm EST on March 7, 2025 and will run through 12pm EST on March 24, 2025.

Because the demand for H-1B visas typically exceeds the number of H-1B visas available for a given year under the annual quota, USCIS conducts a lottery to determine which petitions will be selected for full adjudication to receive an H-1B visa.

This is achieved through the H-1B Electronic Registration Process (note: webpage not yet updated for FY 2026 cycle).

Key information for this cycle:

• The registration fee has been increased to $215 per registrant.
• Petitioners can (and should) create a myUSCIS account in advance of the registration period opening. However, H-1B registrations cannot be completed/submitted until March 7, 2025.

During the registration period, attorneys and employers will submit an electronic registration for all employees that they seek to sponsor for the upcoming fiscal year through their myUSCIS online account. To register, basic company and biographic information about the beneficiary is entered into the system, which will generate a unique confirmation number.  At the close of the registration period, USCIS will conduct the random lottery selection process. Selected registrants will have 90 days from the date of notification by which to submit the complete H-1B petition to USCIS for processing.

As always, the earliest effective date for a FY 2026 H-1B petition to activate is October 1, 2025. Please work with your Obermayer immigration attorneys as soon as possible to ensure a seamless H-1B Cap season.

The information contained in this publication should not be construed as legal advice, is not a substitute for legal counsel, and should not be relied on as such. For legal advice or answers to specific questions, please contact one of our attorneys.