On Wednesday, February 5, USCIS announced the dates for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap. Registration will open on Friday, March 7 at 12 PM Eastern and run through Monday, March 24 at 12 PM Eastern.
What to Expect
- Between March 7 and March 24, prospective petitioners and their representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process.
- The fee for each registration submitted on the behalf of a beneficiary is $215.
- Both representatives and registrants must wait until March 7 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $215 fee.
- Selections take place after the initial registration period closes.
- Additional information and resources about the organizational accounts is available online, Organizational Accounts Frequently Asked Questions. USCIS will update these FAQs with FY 2026 information before the start of the initial registration period.
H-1B Cap Selection Process
The FY 2026 H-1B cap will use the beneficiary-centric selection process launched in FY 2025. Registrations are selected by unique beneficiary rather than by registration. If USCIS receives registrations for enough unique beneficiaries by March 24, USCIS will randomly select unique beneficiaries and send selection notifications via users’ USCIS online accounts. If USCIS does not receive registrations for enough unique beneficiaries, all registrations for unique beneficiaries that were properly submitted in the initial registration period will be selected.
USCIS intends to notify prospective petitioners and representatives whose accounts have at least one registration selected by March 31.
Erickson Insights & Analysis
Erickson Immigration Group will continue to monitor developments and share updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions.