The FY2026 H-1B cap registration opens today, March 7, at noon ET and closes on March 24 at noon ET. Petitioners must register each beneficiary online via a USCIS account and pay a $215.00 fee per beneficiary.
General Information about Registration and Account Requirements
- USCIS Online Account: All H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives must use a USCIS online account to complete the registration process.
- Existing Accounts: Employers who had an H-1B registrant account for FY 2021 – FY 2024 but did not use it for FY 2025 will have their accounts converted to organizational accounts upon their next login.
- New Accounts: First-time registrants can create an account anytime. Additional resources, including step-by-step videos, are available on the Organizational Accounts FAQ page.
- Adding Clients: Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but beneficiary information and registration submissions (with the $215.00 fee) can only begin on March 7.
Enhancements for Organizational Accounts in FY 2026
USCIS has introduced several improvements for organizational and representative accounts, including:
- Paralegal Access: Paralegals can now work with multiple legal representatives and assist with H-1B registrations, Form I-129 petitions, and Form I-907 premium processing requests within one account.
- Simplified Client Management: Legal representatives can more easily add paralegals to company accounts.
- Pre-Population of Data: Certain Form I-129 fields will be pre-filled from selected H-1B registrations.
- Bulk Upload Feature: Petitioners can prepare and upload a spreadsheet of H-1B beneficiary data to streamline registration.
Beneficiary-Centric Selection Process
The FY 2026 H-1B cap will follow the beneficiary-centric selection process introduced in FY 2025. This means registrations will be selected based on unique beneficiaries rather than individual registrations. If USCIS receives sufficient registrations by March 24, selections will be conducted randomly. If not, all properly submitted unique beneficiary registrations will be selected. Selection notifications will be sent via USCIS online accounts by March 31.
Payment Updates for FY 2026
To accommodate high transaction volumes, the U.S. Department of Treasury has temporarily increased the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $99,999.99 for the FY 2026 H-1B cap season. Transactions exceeding this limit can be made via Automated Clearing House (ACH), though payors may need to notify their banks in advance to remove ACH blocks.
Impact of a Government Shutdown on the FY2026 H-1B Cap Registration Process
USCIS has confirmed that a U.S. government shutdown will not affect the FY2026 H-1B Cap Registration system or the pay.gov system. Therefore, even if a shutdown occurs during the FY2026 H-1B Cap Registration period, H-1B cap-subject petitioners and their representatives should still be able to complete their registrations as scheduled.
Filing Petitions After Selection
Only petitioners with a selected registration may file an H-1B cap-subject petition, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption.
We will continue to monitor and share additional updates as USCIS releases pertaining to FY 2026 H-1B cap initial registration.
At HSD Immigration Lawyer, we specialize in complex employment-, investment- and family-based immigration matters. Contact one of HSD Immigration Lawyer offices in Chicago, IL, Naperville, IL, Raleigh, NC, or Clark, NJ, for additional information about this recent announcement and for filing an H-1B cap initial registration.