Also new: DHS has finalized a rule expanding the 9-11 Biometric Fee to same-employer H-1B and L-1 extensions, effective September 9, 2026 — a separate cost employers with large H-1B/L-1 workforces should budget for.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on July 17, 2026 that it has received enough approved petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year 2027 — 65,000 slots under the regular cap plus 20,000 under the U.S. advanced-degree (“master’s”) exemption. With the cap met, USCIS will not run any additional registration rounds this cycle. Employers who were not selected, or who missed the window, are now locked out of the H-1B route for FY2027 and must look at cap-exempt options or wait for next year’s registration period.
Timeline: How FY2027 Cap Season Played Out
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| March 4 – March 19, 2026 | Initial electronic registration period |
| April 1, 2026 | Petition filing window opens for selected registrants |
| June 30, 2026 | 90-day petition filing window closes |
| July 17, 2026 | USCIS confirms both caps reached; no further selections |
What Changed This Year: Wage-Weighted Selection
This was the first FY2027 lottery run entirely under the wage-weighted selection system,
which assigns registrants extra entries based on the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level tied to the offered salary — higher-paid, higher-skilled positions get more chances of being drawn, rather than every registration having an equal shot as under the old flat-lottery model. USCIS says the goal is to prioritize higher-wage roles while still leaving room for entry-level (Level 1) positions to be selected.
That shift lands on top of an already smaller applicant pool: FY2027 registrations came in roughly 38.5% below the prior cycle, a drop largely attributed to employers and talent redirecting toward Canada, the UAE, and parts of Europe amid rising U.S. filing costs and uncertainty (see our full breakdown of the FY2027 registration collapse). A smaller pool combined with wage-weighting means Level 1 and Level 2 wage offers faced materially longer odds this cycle than higher-wage Level 3/4 roles.
What This Means If You Weren’t Selected
If your registration wasn’t selected or your petition wasn’t filed in the window, your options for FY2027 are limited to cap-exempt paths:
- Petitions filed by higher-education institutions, nonprofit research organizations, or governmental research organizations (cap-exempt regardless of the beneficiary’s role)
- Concurrent cap-exempt employment for someone already counted against a prior year’s cap
- Change of employer, amendment, or extension petitions for existing H-1B holders
- Alternative categories — O-1, L-1 intracompany transfer, TN (Canada/Mexico), or E-3 (Australia) depending on eligibility
Employers also still need to account for the $100,000 H-1B petition fee question, which remains contested in litigation
— see our coverage of the court ruling and pending appeal for the current status.
Next Registration Window
USCIS has not yet announced exact dates for the FY2028 initial registration period, but based on the FY2025–FY2027 pattern, expect the window to open in early March 2027. Employers planning to sponsor candidates who missed this cycle should begin salary-level and job-classification planning now, since wage-weighting rewards registrations tied to higher OEWS wage levels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will USCIS hold another H-1B lottery round for FY2027?
No. USCIS confirmed on July 17, 2026 that both the regular cap and master’s cap were met, and no additional registration or selection rounds will be conducted for fiscal year 2027.
What is the wage-weighted selection process?
Introduced for the FY2027 cycle, it allocates additional lottery entries to registrations based on the OEWS wage level associated with the offered salary, favoring higher-paid positions while still allowing entry-level roles into the pool.
Are cap-exempt H-1B petitions still being accepted?
Yes. USCIS continues to accept cap-exempt petitions, including for higher-education and nonprofit research employers, along with extension, amendment, and change-of-employer petitions for existing H-1B workers.
Source: USCIS Alert — USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2027 H-1B Cap, July 17, 2026.
