H-1B FY2027 Lottery Results & Filing Deadline: June 30, 2026 — Wage-Weighted Selection Explained

⏳ June 19, 2026 Update: 11 Days to the June 30 Deadline — Critical Checklist

With only 11 calendar days remaining before the FY2027 H-1B petition filing window closes on June 30, 2026, employers and HR teams must confirm all filings are on track. Below is a last-minute status summary and action checklist.

$100,000 Fee Status as of June 19, 2026

The $100,000 supplemental H-1B fee imposed by the September 2025 Presidential Proclamation remains in effect. A federal judge struck it down on June 8, 2026, but the ruling was stayed on June 15, and the government met the June 18 First Circuit deadline to keep the stay in place. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Case No. 26-1699) is now reviewing the matter — but employers cannot count on the fee being waived before June 30.

Last-Minute Filing Checklist (June 19, 2026)

• Confirm LCA (Labor Condition Application) is certified. USCIS cannot accept an H-1B petition without a DOL-certified LCA. Processing can take 7 business days; if not started, contact your attorney today.
• Verify the I-129 petition is complete and signed. Missing signatures or outdated form editions are common causes of rejection.
• Confirm wage level and prevailing wage compliance. Under the new wage-weighted lottery system, prevailing wage level was used for selection weighting — ensure the offered wage matches or exceeds the LCA wage.
• Use premium processing if you haven’t already. Form I-907 with $2,805 fee guarantees USCIS action within 15 business days, critical for October 1 start dates.
• Mail or file electronically by June 30. Paper petitions must be postmarked by June 30, 2026. E-filing must be submitted before midnight on June 30 (Eastern time).

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) completed the FY2027 H-1B cap selection process on March 31, 2026, marking a historic first: the agency used a new wage-weighted lottery system for the very first time, replacing the random draw that had governed H-1B selection since the program’s inception. With the petition filing window closing on June 30, 2026, employers and foreign nationals must act immediately.

What Is the H-1B FY2027 Cap and Lottery?

The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. Congress caps new H-1B visas at 85,000 per fiscal year: 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 reserved for holders of a U.S. master’s degree or higher (the “advanced degree exemption” or “master’s cap”).

Because demand for H-1B visas consistently exceeds supply, USCIS runs a cap registration lottery each March. Employers register their intended beneficiaries, pay a $215 registration fee per beneficiary, and await selection results. Only selected registrations can proceed to full petition filing.

The New Wage-Weighted Lottery: How It Works in FY2027

Starting with the FY2027 cap season — the first registration period under the final rule published December 29, 2025 — USCIS replaced the random lottery with a wage-level-weighted selection process. Instead of each registration having a single equal chance of selection, registrations are entered into the pool multiple times based on the wage level offered by the employer relative to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) prevailing wage levels.

The practical impact: employers who offer higher wages have a significantly better chance of having their candidates selected. An employer sponsoring a software engineer at a Level III or IV wage now has selection odds roughly three to four times higher than an employer sponsoring the same role at a Level I wage. Average H-1B compensation increased by approximately $9,554 under the new rule, bringing average wages to around $121,863.

FY2027 H-1B Cap Season Timeline

Key Changes for FY2027: What Employers Must Know Before Filing

1. New Form I-129 Is Mandatory

Starting April 1, 2026, a new version of Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) is mandatory for all H-1B cap petitions. The new form requests more detailed information about the H-1B position than prior versions, with a focus on the minimum requirements necessary to perform the job duties. Petitions submitted on the old form will be rejected.

Additionally, and directly tied to the wage-weighted lottery, H-1B cap petitions must include the source material used to determine the DOL OEWS wage level selected during registration. USCIS will scrutinize wage level justifications — employers cannot arbitrarily upgrade a position’s wage level to improve lottery odds and then file a petition at a lower wage.

2. The $100,000 H-1B Consular Notification Fee

One of the most significant cost changes for FY2027 involves a $100,000 supplemental fee applicable to H-1B petitions that can only be approved for consular notification — meaning the foreign national is not eligible for a change of status (COS) inside the United States. This applies primarily to:

• F-1 OPT students who have already used their change of status opportunity or whose OPT expires before the petition can be approved for COS
• Foreign nationals currently outside the U.S.
• Anyone whose COS request is denied — if a COS cannot be approved (e.g., due to a status violation), the petition falls into consular notification and triggers the $100,000 fee
• As of June 2026, no national interest exceptions (NIEs) have been granted, including for healthcare workers in underserved areas

The fee is per petition and does not apply if the petition is approved for a change of status inside the U.S. Employers and counsel should carefully analyze each beneficiary’s eligibility for COS before filing to avoid triggering this fee. A federal court declined to block the fee in December 2025.

3. F-1 OPT Cap-Gap Urgency

F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) who were selected in the FY2027 lottery face a particularly time-sensitive situation. If your OPT Employment Authorization Document (EAD) expires before June 30, 2026, your employer must file the change of status H-1B petition before that EAD expiration date — not simply before June 30 — to ensure cap-gap work authorization benefits through the H-1B start date. Cap-gap coverage allows eligible F-1 OPT workers to continue working from the OPT expiration date through October 1, 2026, provided a timely COS petition is filed.

What Happens If You Were NOT Selected?

Registrations that were not selected — and were not denied or invalidated — retain a status of “Submitted” in the USCIS system. These remain eligible for selection in a subsequent FY2027 cap lottery, which USCIS may conduct if, by June 30, 2026, the agency has not received enough approved petitions for unique beneficiaries to reach the 85,000 annual cap.

Whether USCIS will run a second lottery for FY2027 depends on petition volume during the April–June filing window. In FY2026, only one lottery selection was conducted. In FY2025 and FY2024, two lottery rounds were needed. The new wage-weighted system and $100,000 fee may reduce petition volumes — and could therefore trigger a second selection lottery for FY2027, though this is not guaranteed.

Foreign nationals not selected in FY2027 should work with their employer to explore alternative options:

• Cap-exempt H-1B positions: Work for a qualifying nonprofit research institution, university, or government research organization
• O-1A visa: For individuals with extraordinary ability in sciences, business, or education
• L-1 visa: For intracompany transferees in multinational companies
• TN visa: For Canadian and Mexican nationals in certain professional categories under USMCA
• EB-1/EB-2 green card: In some high-priority cases, employer-sponsored green card petitions may run concurrently

Employer Impact: Wage Strategy and Budget Planning

The FY2027 wage-weighted lottery is reshaping H-1B sponsorship strategy. Employers who historically sponsored large numbers of entry-level H-1B workers — common in IT consulting and staffing industries — saw dramatically lower selection rates compared with employers offering Level III and IV wages. This structural shift has important consequences:

Employers who offered above-prevailing wages saw improved outcomes. Those who continued to register at Level I wages — often because the genuine market rate for the role falls at that level — face the steepest challenge and may need to reconsider their H-1B hiring pipeline strategy for future cap seasons.

FAQ: H-1B FY2027 Lottery and Filing Deadline

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For more information on related topics, see our guides:

• H-1B Visa 2026: Complete Guide — Lottery, Fees, Processing Times & Cap-Gap
• H-1B Salary Increase Proposed 2026: DOL NPRM Would Raise Minimum Wages Up to 30%
• H-1B Visa Stamping 2026: Appointment Delays, Social Media Vetting & How to Prepare
• Adjustment of Status 2026: Complete Guide to the Green Card Process