The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap will open March 7, 2025 and run through March 24, 2025.

Employers should prepare for the registration period by collecting documents and information from potential H-1B employees.  As in years prior, the system requires employers to submit minimal information for each visa requested and file full H-1B petitions only if they are selected in the registration lottery.  Only those randomly selected from the registration pool will be eligible to file petitions.

The registration fee is $215, and employers must provide information such as:

• the employer’s name, mailing address and tax identification number.
• the worker’s name, date of birth, country of citizenship, gender, passport number and education level. 
• whether the worker has attained a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university.

Employers must also certify, under penalty of perjury, that the information provided in the registration is accurate and complete, and that there is a real intention to file an H-1B petition on behalf of the named employee if selected. If more than one registration for the same person is found, USCIS will consider all registrations filed by that employer for that person invalid. The agency stated that it is not evaluating the quality of registrations for merit, but simply eliminating duplicate submissions and choosing registrations at random.

By April 1, employers will be notified via their myUSCIS online account if their registrations were chosen in the lottery for the 85,000 H-1B visas available for the next fiscal year. That starts an expected 90-day period for selected employers to submit full H-1B petitions.

For questions regarding the H-1B Lottery process please contact your assigned attorney. If interested in a consultation, please contact us today.