2026 H-1B Cap Season – Quota, Timeline, Requirements; Lottery Registration Window Opens March 4th; Wage-Based Weighted Selection

The new H-1B work visa “cap” season is set to begin on March 4 with significant changes to how USCIS will allocate the available visa numbers.   Under the new final rule, the H-1B “cap” selection will be given weight based on each beneficiary’s wage level under the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) with higher wage levels getting significantly higher selection chances.       The exact dates for registration are between March 4th and noon eastern U.S. time on March 19th.   

This is the seventh year since USCIS is using the a lottery pre-registration system. As in prior years, the lottery allocation will be based on random selection, however, higher wage level positions will be given a boost.   For example, a position categories as Wage Level IV will have four times higher chance of selection compared to a position under Wage Level I.

Quick Introduction: The H-1B Cap Registration System

The H-1B cap filing will be done in two stages. First, there will be a H-1B work visa registration period where all petitioners seeking to file an new cap H-1B will have to submit an online registration for each beneficiary. 

Timing of the H-1B Cap Entry Submission.  The lottery registration window will be open for submissions in on noon Eastern on March 4th and will remain open until noon Eastern on March 19, 2026.  We do not recommend waiting until the last day to submit lottery registration entry to avoid last-minute website crashes, etc.  There is no benefit of filing on the first day so we recommend avoiding the first-day rush and (likely) system glitches.

What Information Will be Required for Each Electronic Entry?   For each H-1B cap visa entry, USCIS will require (1) the employer’s name, employer identification number (FEIN), and address, (2) employer’s representative contact information; (3) the beneficiary’s full name, date of birth, country of birth, country of citizenship, gender, and passport number; (4) (new this year) the highest OES Wage Level that the beneficiary’s salary equals or exceeds for the relevant position category and worksite location together with the SOC code for the offered position and the area of intended employment; (5) whether the beneficiary has obtained a master’s degree from a U.S. institution of higher education;  and (6) employer’s attorney information.

Even though the information required for an H-1B cap lottery registration does not appear very extensive, this year’s weighted wage allocation changes require extensive position/prevailing wage analysis.   Our office will be analyzing each proposed position’s  position description, salary, worksite location and wage levels.  We also recommend reviewing the candidate’s credentials thoroughly to properly determine the best cap – regular or U.S. master’s degree – to be used for the registration as this cannot be changed later. We also recommend identifying any timing issues such as F-1 OPT cap-gap, CPT, etc. which may require an urgent filing with USCIS if selected by the lottery.

Lottery Logistics and Order of Selection. Towards end of March USICS will allocate the 85,000 H-1B visa numbers (65,000 plus 20,000 for U.S. master’s degree or higher holders) among the registrations and if the registrations exceed 85,000, there will be a random lottery. USCIS will first combine all cap cases (U.S. master’s and regular cap) and allocate towards the 65,000 general cap and then the remaining U.S. master’s degree applications will be allocated towards the 20,000 U.S. master’s cap.

What Will Selected H-1B Cap Entries Have to Do?   Once an employer or their attorney receives a selection notice (by March 31), the employer will then be given a period of 90 days to properly file a complete H-1B cap petition.  USCIS may specify different filing windows in an attempt to stagger the filings and to allow for most efficient petition processing and the filing window will be indicated on the H-1B cap selection notification.  The H-1B cap petition will need to include evidence of the random selection and will have to meet all other H-1B cap requirements, including LCA, proper filing fees and forms, and supporting documents.

Beneficiary-Centric Selection Process and Historical Registration Numbers

USCIS is expected to continue to have a beneficiary-centric selection approach.   This means that each H-1B employee will be counted only once for H-1B cap registration lottery selection purposes regardless of how many (legitimate) H-1B cap registrations they have from multiple employers.    USCIS is not strictly prohibiting multiple registrations for the same candidate by multiple employers; however, the candidate will have only one lottery entry and, if selected, all H-1B employer registrants will be notified of selection.    

As a result, USCIS is removing the incentive of filing multiple registrations by multiple employers in order to increase the chances of selection.    A candidate who has multiple registrations and is selected will now be able to file H-1B petition from any or all of the registrant employers.     It is important to note that as a result of the wage-based weighted allocation system introduced this year,  if a beneficiary has multiple registrations by multiple employers,  USCIS will use the lowest Wage Level for the same beneficiary by any employer.    Please see more in our detailed alert on the change to the beneficiary-centric selection process.

At the same time, USCIS is taking steps to prevent employers from “flooding” the system.    The $215 filing fee for each registration plus the new $100,000 visa fee for H-1B candidates who are outside of the U.S. will  likely cause the number of registrations this year to be much lower.  Below is the number of registrations submitted over the last few years.  

2026 H-1B Cap Timeline

The H-1B cap timeline for employers looking to sponsor H-1B cap visa for this year is generally as follows:

December/January – early March: Case Evaluation and Lottery Registration Prep.
Identify candidates. Evaluate position for specialty occupation and prevailing wage (salary, worksite, position requirements). Evaluate candidate education and determine regular or master’s cap. Evaluate timing issues – F-1 OPT cap-gap, CPT, etc. Employer FEIN registration (for first-time H-1B petitioners). File LCAs for time-sensitive cases.

March 4 – March 19: Lottery Registration Submission
Submit electronic H-1B cap registration application.

End of March: USCIS Announces Selections; File LCAs.
USCIS conducts random lottery. USCIS sends electronic notifications of selected cases. Prepare and file LCAs for selected cases.

April 1 – May/June: File H-1B Petitions.
Prepare and file full H-1B cap petition with evidence of lottery selection and all supporting documents.

Summer (likely July): Second Chance Lottery (if needed)
USCIS conducts “second chance” to allocate any unused H-1B visa numbers for cases selected under the March lottery but which were not filed within the 3-month filing window.

Late Fall (likely November): Third Chance Lottery (if needed)
USCIS conducts “third chance” to allocate any unused H-1B visa numbers for cases selected under the March and July lotteries but which were not filed within the 3-month filing window. We had a third lottery in 2021 but not since then.

Major Topics and Issues for This H-1B Cap Year – (New) Wage-Based Allocation, $100K Visa Fee, and Specialty Occupation/Wage Levels

Weighted Wage-Based Allocation

The major (new) issue for this year’s H-1B “cap” is the wage-based lottery entry allocation.   Under the new final rule, the H-1B “cap” selection will be given weight based on each beneficiary’s wage level under the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES).    The relevant wage level is determined by identifying the highest wage level that the beneficiary’s future H-1B offered wage would equal or exceed for the relevant occupation and area(s) of future H-1B intended employment.

Assuming the number of H-1B “cap” registrations exceeds the number of available new H-1B visas (total of 85,000) and a lottery is required,  each unique H-1B beneficiary will be entered into the lottery pool in a weighted manner based on their wage level as follows:

As a result,  an H-1B candidate who is offered a salary consistent with Wage Level IV for their position and area of employment, will have 4 times higher chance of selection compared to a Wage Level I candidate.  It should  be noted that each unique beneficiary is counted only once towards the lottery pool even if they have different chance of selection based on the weighted selection multiplier.

$100K Visa Fee for New (Consular Processing) Petitions

A new $100,000 supplemental H-1B visa fee was established by the 2025 Presidential Proclamation and recently upheld by the D.C. District Court.   This fee must be paid prior to filing any new H-1B petition for a beneficiary who is currently outside the United States or for whom the petition requests consular notification.  

Importantly, this $100,000 fee does not apply to H-1B cap candidates who are already in the U.S. in a valid nonimmigrant status and seeking a Change of Status (COS). Specifically, employers will not incur this cost for beneficiaries currently in the U.S. under statuses such as F-1 (including OPT/STEM OPT), J-1, H-4, or other valid categories like L-1 or TN.  

As a result of this fee, it is expected that there will be significantly fewer H-1B cap registrations for candidates who are outside of the US.   

Specialty Occupation/Wage Levels

At the same time, USCIS is expected to continues to exercise additional scrutiny compared to prior years and especially focusing on the areas of entry-level positions and “Wage Level I”, specialty occupation nature of the position and also positions where a bachelor’s degree in a specific field is not always required.

Attorney Assistance with H-1B Cap Preparation and Submission

Our office will be happy to provide consultations or assistance with preparing and submitting petitions H-1B cap petitions.

We offer flat fees to handle the entire application and you can contact us or request a flat fee quote. Alternatively, if you would like to schedule a consultation with an attorney to discuss a specific case (but perhaps without engaging us to help with the actual filing ), we offer phone consultations.

Conclusion

With the H-1B cap filing process changed substantially over the past several years and with very high demand expected, we urge H-1B employers to start the preparation process early and to conduct a thorough case analysis before submitting the H-1B cap lottery entry in early March.

If you wish to start a new H-1B work visa petition under this year’s quota, or if our office can be of any help, please contact us as soon as possible or submit our H-1B cap contact form.  Our attorneys and professionals stand ready to review your case, as part of our free initial consultation, and will help you prepare a strong H-1B application. Also, we invite you to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain further news and developments on this topic.   

Frequently Asked Questions for Petitioners

Frequently Asked Questions for Beneficiaries