U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on July 17, 2026, that it had received sufficient petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2027.
The announcement confirms that both the 65,000 regular cap allocation and the 20,000 advanced degree exemption, commonly known as the “master’s cap,” have been filled.
Each year, USCIS is authorised to grant 65,000 new H-1B visas under the regular cap, with an additional 20,000 available under the advanced degree exemption for qualifying applicants.
The FY 2027 H-1B cap petition filing window ran from April 1, 2026, to June 30, 2026, giving employers and their sponsored workers a three-month window to submit their applications.
Because USCIS has received enough petitions to satisfy the cap, it will not conduct additional rounds of H-1B cap registration selections for this fiscal year.
This outcome mirrors what happened in the previous cycle, as USCIS similarly did not conduct any additional selection rounds in FY 2026.
USCIS has not yet released data related to the FY 2027 cap registration selection rate, leaving employers and immigration practitioners without full visibility into competition levels.
The FY 2027 cycle was notable for introducing several significant changes compared to prior years, making it one of the more consequential H-1B lotteries in recent memory.
Most significantly, this was the first H-1B lottery conducted under a new weighted selection process, which assigned additional cap lottery entries to beneficiaries based on their salary and corresponding Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics wage level.
The new weighting system was designed to favour higher-paid workers, a shift that analysts say could reshape which applicants are most likely to secure a visa in future rounds.
Alongside the weighted selection rule, a new Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, was implemented, requiring additional disclosures regarding the terms and conditions of employment.
Employers and legal teams had to adapt quickly to the updated form requirements, adding another layer of complexity to an already competitive and heavily scrutinised process.
USCIS confirmed it will continue to accept and process cap-exempt H-1B petitions, including extension, amendment, and change of employer petitions, as well as change of status petitions filed by cap-exempt petitioners.
Businesses relying on skilled overseas workers should work closely with immigration counsel to ensure compliance with the updated rules and to plan ahead for the FY 2028 registration period.