H-1B cap season: employers should begin preparing in February for lottery registration in March
H-1B cap season is quickly approaching with Fiscal Year 2027 lottery registration scheduled for March 2026. For background, U.S employers may offer H-1B sponsorship to their foreign national workers in Specialty Occupations, which require at least a bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent in education or experience) that is directly related to the position’s job duties. H-1B status confers many benefits to both employers and workers, including up to six years of employment authorization (additional time permitted in certain circumstances), full-time or part-time employment flexibility, and concurrent employment of the H-1B worker by multiple employers.
Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the upcoming fiscal year, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register. USCIS will open registration on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 12pm ET and will close registration on Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 12pm ET. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions from April 1 to June 30, 2026 for H-1B status starting on October 1, 2026.
This year, USCIS will be transitioning from a random lottery to a weighted lottery. Under a December 29, 2025 Final Rule, USCIS will favor registrations for “higher skilled” nonimmigrants by allocating more registrations to higher-paid workers. USCIS will use the four wage levels from the Department of Labor Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey to allocate more lottery entries to registrants with higher wages. Registrants with Level I wages will receive one entry, Level II wages will receive two entries, Level III wages will receive three entries, and Level IV wages will receive four entries.
The proposed changes will increase the amount of time needed to prepare and submit each H-1B lottery entry, as an analysis of the employer’s offered position and selection of the proper OEWS occupational code and wage level will be required. These changes will likely also impact how companies can sponsor recent college graduates.
Given this advanced timeline for e-registration and additional complications resulting from the new weighted lottery, now is the best time for employers to decide whether they will file H-1B petitions. Please feel free to contact the attorneys of Iandoli, Desai & Cronin now with your questions about potential H-1B sponsorship.