- USCIS confirmed they reached the 85,000 limit for the fiscal year twenty twenty-seven H-1B cap.
- Total registration volume dropped by nearly 40 percent following new wage-weighted selection rules.
- The agency will not conduct a second lottery this year for unselected applicants.
USCIS said July 17, 2026, that it had received enough petitions to fill the H-1B cap for Fiscal Year 2027, covering 65,000 regular visas and 20,000 places reserved for people with U.S. advanced degrees.
The agency completed its selection process after employers filed petitions by the June 30 deadline. It will not conduct a second lottery this year.
The announcement closes the filing period for the annual 85,000-visa allocation. The total combines the 65,000 regular cap with the 20,000 advanced degree exemption, also called the master’s cap.
Free toolH-1B Cost Calculator OnlineThe agency issued the following statement:
"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2027."
Employers whose petitions were timely filed and approved may place selected beneficiaries into H-1B employment beginning October 1, 2026. People who were not selected cannot rely on another selection round for this fiscal year.
Registration volume fell as selection rules changed
The agency received 211,600 properly submitted registrations for FY 2027, down 38.5% from 343,981 registrations in FY 2026. The smaller pool still supplied enough petitions to fill every available slot.
The selection system also produced a different beneficiary profile. People holding U.S. advanced degrees represented 71.5% of selected beneficiaries, compared with 57% the previous year.
Only 17.7% of selected registrations fell in the lowest wage category, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Level 1.
| Measure | FY 2027 result | Comparison or total |
|---|---|---|
| Regular allocation | 65,000 | Part of the 85,000 total |
| U.S. advanced degree exemption | 20,000 | Part of the 85,000 total |
| Properly submitted registrations | 211,600 | 38.5% below 343,981 in FY 2026 |
| Selected beneficiaries with a U.S. advanced degree | 71.5% | 57% in the previous year |
| Selected registrations at OEWS Level 1 | 17.7% | Lowest wage category |
The changes followed a final rule that took effect February 27, 2026. The Department of Homeland Security replaced the traditional random lottery with a wage-weighted selection system based on the Department of Labor’s four OEWS wage levels.
That system gives priority to beneficiaries offered higher wages. The stated policy goal is to “prioritize allocating visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid individuals” and protect American wages.
A new payment added another sponsorship hurdle
A Presidential Proclamation issued in September 2025 requires certain H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025, to include an additional $100,000 payment.
The added charge made employers more selective about which candidates they sponsored and is cited as a primary reason registrations declined by 38.5%.
The cost applies to certain petitions rather than every H-1B filing. The wage-weighted system separately affected how registrations were chosen, making the FY 2027 process different from the earlier random-selection model.
Employers now face the practical deadline of supporting timely filed petitions through adjudication. Selected workers, meanwhile, must have their petitions approved before beginning employment on October 1, 2026.
Unselected workers must wait or use another route
People who were not selected in the initial round will not receive another chance through a second FY 2027 lottery. The next registration period is expected in March 2027 for FY 2028.
Some may instead examine O-1, L-1, or TN visa options, depending on their qualifications, employer, and circumstances. Those routes are separate from the annual H-1B allocation.
The annual limit does not cover every H-1B petition. The agency continues accepting cap-exempt filings, including extensions of stay and changes to employment terms for current H-1B holders.
Institutions of higher education and nonprofit research organizations are examples of cap-exempt employers. Their qualifying petitions remain outside the 85,000 annual allocation.
The FY 2027 cycle therefore ends with all available places filled, no second selection planned, and the next registration window expected in March 2027. Approved selected beneficiaries may begin work on October 1, 2026.
