The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap-subject visas will begin at noon Eastern on March 4 and run through noon Eastern on March 19, 2026. During this window, employers and authorized representatives must use a USCIS online account to electronically register each prospective beneficiary and pay the $215 registration fee per individual.
Employers without an account must create an organizational USCIS account, while representatives can add clients at any time. Registrations can only be submitted starting March 4. Selections will be conducted after the registration period closes, with notifications sent to selected petitioners and representatives via their USCIS online accounts by March 31, 2026. Only beneficiaries whose registrations are selected will be eligible for H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those qualifying for the advanced degree exemption.
For FY 2027, a new weighted selection process prioritizes visas for higher-skilled and higher-paid applicants to safeguard wages and job opportunities for American workers. Registrations for unique beneficiaries will be selected based on this approach, with all properly submitted registrations chosen if the number of unique beneficiaries is below the cap.
USCIS noted that President Trump’s September 2025 Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, does not directly affect the electronic registration process, but selected petitioners may need to pay an additional $100,000 fee before filing the H-1B petition, depending on eligibility. Additional guidance is available on USCIS’s H-1B Electronic Registration Process webpage.
