- FY2027 is the first year under the wage-weighted 4-3-2-1 selection system, replacing the random lottery — higher salaries get more entries in the pool.
- Results are expected by March 31, 2026 inside myUSCIS accounts — USCIS does not send email or mail notifications.
- Selected employers must file Form I-129 between April 1 and June 30, 2026, with a new $100,000 fee for consular-processing cases.
USCIS is expected to post FY2027 H-1B lottery results inside each petitioner’s myUSCIS account by March 31, 2026. The agency does not send results by email or physical mail. This year marks a major shift: the old random lottery is gone, replaced by a wage-weighted selection system that gives higher-paid positions better odds of being picked.
For the FY2027 cap season, the registration window ran from March 4 through March 19, 2026. Early estimates suggest registrations dropped roughly 40 percent compared to last year, from about 336,000 unique beneficiaries in FY2026 to an estimated 200,000–250,000 this cycle. The decline is widely attributed to stricter enforcement, the new wage-based rules, and the $100,000 fee that now applies to certain petition types.
The H-1B program remains one of the primary pathways for skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations across technology, engineering, healthcare, and finance. Congress caps the program at 85,000 visas each fiscal year — 65,000 in the regular cap and 20,000 reserved for holders of U.S. advanced degrees. Because demand consistently exceeds the cap, USCIS uses an electronic registration system to determine who may file a full petition.
Whether you are an employer waiting on a selection notice, a beneficiary watching for updates, or an immigration attorney managing dozens of cases, the steps below walk through exactly how to check your status, what each result means, and what to do next under the new FY2027 rules.
VisaVerge.com has tracked every H-1B cap season since the beneficiary-centric reforms began, and this guide reflects the most current information available as of March 27, 2026.
Before diving into how to check your results, it helps to understand what changed this year and why the odds look different for every wage level.
FY2027 Key Dates at a Glance
How the New Wage-Weighted Lottery Works
Starting with FY2027, USCIS no longer uses a purely random draw. The Department of Homeland Security finalized a rule on December 29, 2025, that replaced the equal-chance lottery with a wage-level-weighted selection process. The rule took effect on February 27, 2026, just in time for the March registration period.
Under this system, each registration is assigned a weight based on the offered prevailing wage level from the Department of Labor’s four-tier scale. A beneficiary offered a Level IV (fully competent) wage gets four entries in the selection pool. A Level III (experienced) offer gets three entries. Level II (qualified) gets two, and Level I (entry) gets just one. The more entries, the higher the chance of selection.
This shift is designed to prioritize workers offered higher wages, which the government argues better protects American workers and ensures H-1B slots go to positions that genuinely require specialized talent. For employers, it means budgeting for Level III or Level IV wages now directly increases the odds of selection. For entry-level positions, the math has changed significantly.
How to Check Your H-1B Lottery Results in myUSCIS
Only the petitioner (the employer or their authorized attorney) who submitted the registration can view the result directly. Individual beneficiaries do not receive notifications from USCIS — they must ask their employer or attorney for the update. Here is the step-by-step process.
Do not use the public USCIS Case Status Online tool for this check. That tool tracks filed petitions using receipt numbers. H-1B registrations have only a Beneficiary Confirmation Number (BCN), not a receipt number, so the public tool will not return results. The correct portal is the secure USCIS myAccount page.
Understanding Each Status Label
The status label next to each registration tells you exactly where the case stands. Here is what each one means and what action, if any, you should take.
What Happens After Selection
Being selected is the first hurdle, but the real work begins immediately after. Selected employers must file Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) between April 1 and June 30, 2026. Missing this deadline means losing the selection — USCIS does not grant extensions.
The petition must include a certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor, the job description, proof of the beneficiary’s qualifications, and evidence of the employer-employee relationship. Since the LCA typically takes 7 to 10 business days to process, employers should file it as soon as they see a “Selected” status. Use the official Form I-129 page for the latest filing instructions.
Premium processing is available for H-1B petitions at a fee of $2,805. This guarantees a response from USCIS within 15 business days. For employers who need to lock in an October 1 start date — especially for F-1 students relying on cap-gap protection — premium processing is often worth the cost.
The New $100,000 Fee: Who Pays and Who Is Exempt
One of the biggest changes for FY2027 is a $100,000 fee that applies to certain H-1B petitions filed under the new cap. This fee, stemming from a presidential proclamation, targets petitions where the beneficiary is outside the United States and will enter through consular processing. The employer is responsible for the fee and cannot pass the cost to the employee.
However, the fee comes with significant exemptions. It does not apply to:
- Change of status petitions — most F-1 students transitioning to H-1B from within the United States are exempt
- Extensions of existing H-1B status
- Amendments to current H-1B petitions
- Transfers between employers for workers already in H-1B status
- Beneficiaries outside the U.S. who already hold a valid H-1B visa
In practice, this means the fee primarily affects employers hiring workers who are abroad and have never held H-1B status. For F-1 students on OPT filing change-of-status petitions from inside the United States, the $100,000 fee typically does not apply.
FY2027 Registration Numbers and What They Mean
The FY2027 registration period saw a steep decline in submissions. While USCIS has not yet released official numbers, immigration attorneys estimate registrations fell to between 200,000 and 250,000 — roughly 40 percent fewer than the 336,153 unique beneficiaries registered for FY2026.
The sharp drop reflects several factors: USCIS fraud detection using AI to identify and block duplicate or suspicious registrations, the deterrent effect of the wage-weighted system on lower-wage petitions, the new $100,000 consular processing fee, and broader uncertainty around immigration enforcement under the current administration.
For those who did register, the smaller pool could mean better overall odds. But because selection is now weighted by wage level, the benefit is not spread equally. Higher-wage registrations gain the most from the reduced competition.
If You Are Not Selected
A “Not Selected” or lingering “Submitted” status does not necessarily end the road. USCIS has conducted second and even third selection rounds in past fiscal years when the initial pool did not generate enough petitions to fill all 85,000 slots. These additional rounds typically happen between July and October.
Beyond waiting for a later round, workers and employers have several alternative pathways to consider:
- Cap-exempt H-1Bs — positions at universities, nonprofit research organizations, and government research institutions are not subject to the 85,000 cap and do not require lottery selection
- L-1 visa — for intracompany transferees moving from an overseas office to a U.S. office of the same employer
- O-1 visa — for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement in their field
- E-3 visa — available exclusively to Australian nationals for specialty occupation positions
- TN visa — for Canadian and Mexican professionals under the USMCA trade agreement
- F-1 OPT/STEM OPT extension — eligible students can continue working under Optional Practical Training while waiting for the next lottery cycle
Filing Costs and Fees for FY2027
The total cost of an H-1B petition has increased for FY2027. Here is a breakdown of the fees involved at each stage.
Tips for Employers and Attorneys Managing Multiple Cases
Firms handling dozens or hundreds of registrations should establish a daily monitoring routine during the selection window. USCIS updates the dashboard in batches without advance notice, so checking once and walking away is not enough. Set calendar reminders to log into the organizational account at least once per day from now through the first week of April.
Keep Login.gov credentials secure and accessible. If the person who submitted the registrations is unavailable, other team members cannot check the status without those credentials. For large firms, assign at least two authorized users to each organizational account.
When a case shows “Selected,” start the LCA process the same day. The Department of Labor’s 7–10 day processing time is the bottleneck, and every day matters when the filing deadline is June 30. Employers using premium processing should budget for $2,805 per case on top of the standard filing fees.
Looking Ahead: What to Watch
Several developments could affect the FY2027 cap season in the coming months. Court challenges to the wage-weighted selection rule remain possible, though no injunction has been issued as of March 27, 2026. If a court blocks the rule, USCIS would likely revert to random selection — but this scenario grows less likely as the selection process is already underway.
USCIS has also signaled it is using AI-powered fraud detection to screen registrations for suspicious patterns, including coordinated submissions from related entities. This technology, new for FY2027, could result in more “Invalidated” statuses than in prior years.
The Department of Labor has separately proposed changes to the prevailing wage calculation methodology through a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. If finalized, this could shift the wage thresholds for each level, further changing selection odds in future years. Employers should monitor the latest updates on the wage-weighted system as the cap season progresses.
