USCIS Hits FY 2027 H-1B Visa Cap, Signaling Tight Hiring Market
USCIS reached the FY 2027 annual cap for H-1B visas, confirming strong demand.
Why it matters: Legal and corporate immigration teams must prepare for limited H-1B visa availability this year, affecting hiring and compliance planning.
- USCIS announced on July 17, 2026, the receipt of enough petitions to meet the FY 2027 cap of 85,000 H-1B visas, including 65,000 regular and 20,000 master's cap visas.
- The FY 2027 H-1B registration window ran from March 4 to 19, 2026, with a $215 fee per applicant.
- A new weighted lottery system prioritized higher wage levels in the FY 2027 visa selection, replacing the prior random lottery method.
- Total registrations for FY 2027 were 211,600, a 38.5% drop from FY 2026, though demand remains strong despite fewer filings.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced on July 17, 2026, that it had received sufficient H-1B visa petitions to meet the congressionally mandated FY 2027 cap of 85,000 visas. This cap includes 65,000 regular H-1B visas and 20,000 visas under the advanced degree exemption.
The registration period for these visas was held from March 4 to March 19, 2026. Employers paid a $215 registration fee per registrant to enter the FY 2027 lottery, which determines which petitions proceed to the filing stage. Selected registrants' employers had until June 30, 2026, to submit petitions.
A significant change this year was the introduction of a weighted selection system for the H-1B lottery. As noted by industry experts on the Immigration Talk Show, this process prioritizes petitions tied to higher wage levels rather than selecting purely by random lottery as in prior years. This rule, introduced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, aims to favor higher skilled positions.
Despite this new system, total registrations declined to 211,600, a 38.5% decrease from the previous fiscal year’s levels, as reported by Visas Update. The reasons for this decline have not been detailed, but the cap was still met, signaling robust demand for skilled foreign labor.
For legal departments, corporate general counsels, and immigration lawyers, this signals an increasingly competitive H-1B landscape. Strategic planning for recruitment and compliance is essential given the capped allocation and the new prioritization of higher wage roles.
By the numbers:
- 85,000 — total H-1B visas allocated for FY 2027 (65,000 regular + 20,000 master's cap)
- 211,600 — total FY 2027 registrations, down 38.5% from FY 2026
- $215 — registration fee per beneficiary during the March 4-19, 2026 registration period