Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in H-1B FY 2026

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winner-4443135_1280In this blog post, we bring you an important announcement regarding the H-1B visa fiscal year (FY) 2026 cap season.

Today, March 31st the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it received sufficient electronic registrations during the initial registration period to meet the annual numerical limitations for fiscal year 2026, including for the advanced degree exemption (also known as the master’s cap).

Due to this, the agency has completed the H-1B visa lottery and selected unique beneficiaries at random from the properly submitted electronic registrations to reach the H-1B cap.

As of today, March 31st USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners of their selection via their myUSCIS organizational accounts. Please be aware that only selected beneficiaries are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition with USCIS.

Congratulations to all those who were selected!

How will I know if I was selected in the lottery?

Petitioners with selected registrations will have their myUSCIS online organizational accounts updated to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file. If you submitted your electronic registration with the assistance of an attorney, you should contact your legal representative to determine whether you were selected in the randomized lottery and your next steps.

Please note that a registrant’s USCIS online account will show one of the following statuses for each beneficiary registered:

  • Submitted: The registration has been submitted and is eligible for selection. If the initial selection process has been completed, this registration remains eligible, unless subsequently invalidated, for selection in any subsequent selections for the fiscal year for which it was submitted.
  • Selected: Selected to file an H-1B cap petition.
  • Not Selected: Not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration.
  • Denied – duplicate registration: Multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for this beneficiary for the fiscal year are invalid.
  • Invalidated –failed payment: A registration was submitted but the payment method was declined, not reconciled, or otherwise invalid.
  • Deleted: The submitted registration has been deleted and is no longer eligible for selection.

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Source: Flickr
Attribution mollyktadams

U.S. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia of the state of Texas is leading a renewed push to create a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Currently, DACA recipients are allowed to renew their DACA benefits but the future of the program remains uncertain.

Following a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Garcia urged President Trump to work with lawmakers on passing the American Dream and Promise Act. This piece of legislation was originally introduced in 2021 and was refiled in 2023, but the bill failed to gain approval from lawmakers.

The bill would give 10-year conditional permanent resident status to qualifying individuals who entered the United States as minors. Eligible candidates must pass background checks, prove that they have continuously lived in the U.S. since 2021, and be enrolled in school or have graduated. Among those who would benefit are those who are deportable or inadmissible, have deferred enforced departure, temporary protected status, or are children of “certain classes of nonimmigrants.”

As of September 2024, there were roughly 538,000 DACA beneficiaries in the United States. Another 3.6 million arrived in the U.S. as children but do not have protections. The Trump administration has remained largely silent on how it will approach the DACA program.

As we watch closely for more concrete developments, we encourage DACA recipients to meet with their attorneys to discuss potential legal avenues. These include employment-based non-immigrant visas, 245(i) eligibility for adjustment of status for those who qualify, and other screening.

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ai-generated-8894578_1280The H-1B FY 2026 cap season is now in full swing!

Yesterday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) formally announced that the initial registration period for the FY 2026 cap season will open on March 7th at noon Eastern time and run through March 24th at noon eastern time.

Those who participated in the FY 2025 H-1B cap season may recall that there was a decrease in the number of registrations submitted (479,953) when compared to FY 2024 (780,884). Of the 479,953 total registrations submitted in FY 2025, only 470,342 were eligible to participate in the lottery.

Additionally, a total of 135,137 registrations were selected in FY 2025, compared to 188,400 in FY 2024.

H-1B FY 2026 Cap Registration Important Dates

  • February: Petitioners and registrants can begin creating H-1B registrant accounts at noon Eastern.
  • March 7: H-1B registration period opens at noon Eastern.
  • March 24: H-1B registration period closes at noon Eastern.
  • March 31: Date by which USCIS intends to notify selected registrants.
  • April 1: The earliest date that FY 2026 H-1B cap-subject petitions based on the registrations selected during the initial FY 2026 selection period may be filed.

FY 2026 Cap Season Highlights

  • FY 2026 H-1B cap petitioners or their representatives must register using their USCIS online accounts by the deadline of March 24th at noon ET to participate in the computer-generated lottery
  • The H-1B registration fee for each electronic registration is $215 U.S. dollars (per beneficiary)
  • H-1B cap selections will not take place until the initial registration period closes, so there is no requirement to register on the day the initial registration period opens
  • Legal representatives and registrations will need to wait until March 7 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the associated fee

For more information about how to create a USCIS online account, please click here.

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54160491284_b32055f6df_oAfter years of criticizing the H-1B work visa program, benefitting highly skilled foreign talent, on Saturday the President-elect shocked the world when he pledged his support for the program.

In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said, “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” referring to the H-1B program, which allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.

The President elect went on to say, “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”

These comments are a sudden change from Trump’s usual hardline stance on H-1B visas. During his first term in office, Trump passed an executive action known as “Buy American and Hire American,” which restricted access to H-1B visas.

His administration was also responsible for a dramatic increase in the issuance of Requests for Evidence, as well as denials of H-1B worker petitions—a record high when compared to previous administrations.

Since speaking with the media, Trump allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, both made posts on social media vehemently pledging their support for the H-1B visa program.

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