On Friday, July 18, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that they had reached the fiscal year 2026 H-1B Cap limit. Specifically, USCIS received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemption, commonly referred to as the “masters cap”, for fiscal year 2026. Therefore, the lottery selection process has been completed for this fiscal year. Importantly, unlike in other years, there will not be any subsequent rounds of selection based on the fiscal year 2026 registrations.
USCIS will, however, continue to accept and adjudicate cap-exempt H-1B petitions including:
- Current H-1B workers who have already been counted against the cap and retain a valid cap number;
- Extensions of stay for current H-1B workers;
- Changes to the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
- Transfers to new employers for current H-1B workers;
- Concurrent employment in additional H-1B positions; and
- Qualifying “cap exempt” employers, such as institutions of higher education and nonprofit research organizations.
If you are an employer or individual not selected in the fiscal year 2026 lottery, now is the time to explore alternative options. Additionally, it is never too early to begin planning for next year’s fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap lottery season. Our Firm offers a full range of U.S. immigration services for employers, temporary workers, individuals and their families. We are highly-skilled at navigating the complex cap and cap-exempt H-1B processes as well as various nonimmigrant visa-types. If you have questions about the H-1B visa or alternative nonimmigrant visa options, I invite you to contact our team at Green and Spiegel for detailed guidance and assistance.
