On February 5, 2025, USCIS officially announced the dates of the initial H-1B registration period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, which registration period will open on Friday, March 7, 2025 at 12pm EDT and run through Monday, March 24, 2025 at 12pm EDT.
Similar to last year, H-1B cap-subject sponsoring employers and counsel will be required to use the USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the required registration fee. As we mentioned in our last email to you, there will, however, be a significant increase in the 2026 fiscal year H-1B registration filing fee from $10 to $215 for each registration submitted on behalf of each of your employees.
Per this announcement, we can begin to enter the registration information for each of your H-1B candidates on March 7, 2025 and submit the H-1B cap registration, along with the $215 fee on the USCIS online account. On that basis, if you have not already done so, please prepare your list of FY 2026 H-1B cap registration candidates by identifying potential beneficiaries to ensure that all candidates may be registered within the designated timeframe. Employer Representatives should also make sure that you still maintain access to the Company’s USCIS organization account online.
For the FY 2026 H-1B cap selection process, USCIS will continue to utilize the beneficiary-centric selection process launched in FY 2025 under which registrations are selected by unique beneficiary rather than by registration. USCIS will perform its random selection and notify the attorneys and employers by March 31, 2025.
If you have any employees for whom you would like to include in this year’s H-1B lottery, please contact us immediately. Anthony F. Siliato, Scott R. Malyk, Lin R. Walker, or Stacey A. Simon.