The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released detailed statistics and data regarding the number of beneficiaries selected during the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap season, highlighting the highly competitive nature of the visa process.
Each year, the H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations, and demand for these visas has consistently gotten tougher throughout the years.
The FY 2026 data shows a significant drop in H-1B registrants, with 126,361 fewer applicants compared to the previous year.
Overview
During the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap season:
- USCIS received eligible registrations for 336,153 unique beneficiaries and selected just 118,660 – or approximately 35.3% – of these beneficiaries.
- The overall number of registrations submitted in FY 2026 decreased dramatically from 470,342 eligible registrations filed last year to just 343,981 eligible registrations filed this year.
- On average, each beneficiary only had approximately one registration submitted on their behalf.
- USCIS is not expected to announce a second cap lottery until at least July 2025, after the current H-1B filing period closes.