USCIS ANNOUNCES FY 2026 H-1B CAP INITIAL REGISTRATION PERIOD
On February 5, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the FY 2026 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 7, and close at noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives must register each beneficiary electronically via a USCIS online account and pay the $215 registration fee per beneficiary.
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, which will be updated with FY 2026 details before the registration period begins.
- Adding Clients: Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but beneficiary information and registration submissions (with the $215 fee) can only begin on March 7.
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.
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. Further details are available on the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page.
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.
These enhancements will be available before the initial registration period begins.
For additional information about FY 2026 H-1B cap initial registration, please read our previous Article titled – SUBMITTING AN H-1B CAP REGISTRATION IN MARCH 2025 : WHAT PROSPECTIVE H-1B EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES NEED TO KNOW?
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.