USCIS Completes FY 2027 H-1B Cap Lottery: Selected Petitions Must Be Filed by June 30 Deadline

USCIS has officially completed the lottery, and selection notices are actively populating in employer and attorney myUSCIS accounts. This year marks a historic and highly anticipated shift: it is the very first selection process conducted under the new wage-based weighted system, fundamentally changing the odds for thousands of applicants.

If your registration was selected—congratulations!  However, the most critical phase begins right now. Employers have a strict filing window from April 1 to June 30, 2026, to submit a fully documented petition.   There are a number of regulatory changes this year, including a brand-new Form I-129, intense scrutiny to justify your selected wage level, and the $100,000 visa fee for certain workers. 

FY 2027 Cap Statistics

(Note: The official registration numbers and selection statistics for the FY 2027 cap season have not yet been released. We will update these figures as soon as USCIS publishes the data. For context, last year saw 343,981 eligible registrations, resulting in a general selection rate of approximately 35%.)

Not selected? See our alert for alternative visa options.

Process for H-1B Cap Petition Submission for Selected Registrations

Registrations marked as “Selected” can download an electronic (PDF format) H-1B Cap Registration Selection Notice. This notice includes detailed information about the petitioner and the selected beneficiary, and traditionally advises that the employer has until June 30, 2026, to submit a fully prepared and documented H-1B petition with USCIS.

The H-1B petition must include a copy of the Registration Selection Notice. The notice also indicates the USCIS Service Center where the petition should be filed, making it clear that only the named employer can file for the named beneficiary—no substitutions of beneficiaries are permitted.

If the petition is not submitted before the deadline noted in the Registration Selection Notice, the selection will be voided, and the H-1B number will be reallocated to a different beneficiary as part of a potential waitlist lottery (see below).

We Recommend Preparing and Filing as Fully-Documented as Possible H-1B Cap Petitions As Early As Possible

For those who are selected, we highly recommend submitting a fully prepared and documented petition as early as practicable after the filing window opens on April 1st, and well before the June 30th deadline, to avoid any last-minute glitches or issues.

While it may be possible to refile a rejected H-1B cap petition within the deadline, if an H-1B petition is rejected after June 30th, there is no recourse and the H-1B cap registration will be lost.

Major Issues During This Year’s H-1B Cap Filing Season – What to Watch Out For?

We anticipate the major issued during this year’s H-1B cap filing season to be in line with last year where we all observed a historically high rate of RFEs and scrutiny by USCIS.

Specialty Occupation. The #1 issue over the last couple of years has been the specialty occupation issue which essentially focuses on the position and that it is demonstrated that it requires a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in a specific field of study related to the position. See our in-depth article on this topic. Our job during an H-1B petition preparation is to analyze an offered position, identify red flags and suggest ways to address them for the strongest possible petition.

Increased Scrutiny on Upfront Registration Details (Worksite, SOC, and Wage Level). This year marks a significant shift, as the H-1B cap registration process now requires detailed upfront information, including the specific worksite location, Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) category, and proposed wage level. Because these details are locked in at the time of registration, employers must ensure that the data provided matches the subsequent Labor Condition Application (LCA) and the final H-1B petition exactly. Any discrepancies—such as a change in the third-party client worksite, a shift in the job duties that alters the SOC code, or an adjustment to the wage level between March and the time of filing—could trigger severe scrutiny, Requests for Evidence (RFEs), or outright denials.    See our alert on details of wage-weighted selection process.

Wage Level I/Entry-Level Position. Entry-level positions, classified under Wage Level I, should be consistent with the SOC job category and with the actual job description. Entry-level positions in some SOC categories (Programmers, for example) are also not considered to meet the specialty occupation standard. An example: avoid classifying “Senior Managers III” as Wage Level I positions. See our in-depth article on this topic.

Position Requirements and Wage Level Mismatch Between H-1B Cap Registration, LCA and Form I-129.    Similarly,  as a result of revisions to the I-129 form which now requires explicit description of the position requirements, it anticipate that USCIS may focus extensively on the position requirements and to specifically look for mismatch between the Wage Level indicated on the H-1B Cap Registration, the LCA and the Form I-129 petition.

Third-party Placement/Right to Control. USCIS expects to see documentation of the relationships between the employer and the end client, including middle vendors. As many as possible of the contracts, purchase orders, statements of work and letters should be provided and they would ideally address the full duration of the placement, identify the employee, the position and its requirements, and the H-1B employer’s continued right to control the employee at the third-party worksite. Our office has a number of well-tested and “tuned” templates and we are definitely happy to provide extensive guidance on how to best present and document third-party placement cases in order to get an approval and for the longest-possible H-1B validity term.

In-house Project Documentation. H-1B employees who are placed to work at an in-house project may be expected to provide extensive documentation about the credibility of such project, including technical, business, marketing, etc. materials. Project timelines and evidence of available office space are often required as well. The in-house project scrutiny is significantly higher towards employers who typically place workers at third-party worksite locations.

CPT and Maintenance of F-1 Valid Status. “Day-1” CPTs are not unlawful; however, they have received a lot of bad publicity and USCIS questions if such CPTs are authorized properly. Before requesting change of status from F-1 to H-1B as part of an H-1B cap petition, we recommend carefully analyzing the validity (and possible documentation) of F-1 CPT and to weigh the possibility of requesting an H-1B to be approved with “consular processing” to avoid the issue altogether (although this will require leaving the US, attending H-1B visa stamp appointment at US consulate and then reentering the US on H-1B status). See this article on F-1 CPT as background.

These are not the only H-1B cap issues which have to be addressed but they cover, by far, the most common areas of USCIS scrutiny.

Major FY 2027 Regulatory Changes: What to Know Before Filing

The FY 2027 cap season introduces historic changes to the H-1B program. If your registration is selected, you must navigate several new hurdles during the petition phase:

• The $100,000 Presidential Proclamation Fee: If your selected candidate is currently outside the U.S. and requires consular processing, your petition must include proof of a $100,000 fee payment. However, candidates already in the U.S. changing status (e.g., F-1 OPT to H-1B) are generally exempt. We can help you determine fee applicability and ensure proper Pay.gov processing.

• Wage-Based Petition Scrutiny: Because this year’s lottery used a weighted system favoring higher wage levels, USCIS will heavily scrutinize your petition to ensure the job duties, SOC code, and candidate qualifications legitimately match the wage level you claimed during registration.

• New Forms and Electronic Payments:  Starting April 1, 2026, USCIS requires a new edition of Form I-129. Furthermore, paper checks are no longer accepted; all fees must be paid electronically.

Attorney Assistance with H-1B Cap Preparation and Submission

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.

 
Waitlisted Registrations MAY Get Second Lottery Registration Chance (Likely in July)

According to USCIS, selected H-1B cap registrations which did not file an H-1B petition before the June 30, 2026 deadline will be then allocated among the wait-listed (non-selected) registrations. As a result, it is possible that an H-1B registration which was not selected in the initial March lottery to be selected and invited to submit an H-1B petition later in the summer, likely around July or August.    There was a secondary lottery last year although there were very few available visas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Capitol Immigration Law Group file the H-1B petition even if the cap registration was submitted by someone else?

Yes, absolutely, we can do this even if another attorney filed the cap registration. In addition to the normal H-1B petition documents (we will share checklists and templates), we will need the online H-1B Registration Selection notice.

The third-party client is not willing to provide much or any documentation – what can I do?

We recommend having an honest discussion and explain to the end client the importance of good documentation. Sometimes the other party may not realize the importance or the purpose. We also can document the facts of the placement in a number of other ways – project correspondence, task orders, invoices, sometimes even public records. Direct documents are best but there are alternatives. Additionally, as a result of recent litigation and the change in stance by the Biden administration, third-party documents do not have to be as complete as during prior years. Our office will be happy to provide guidance on this topic.

If the H-1B cap petition is denied before June 30th, can the petition be refiled?

Our office has been trying to find a confirmation to this question but no firm answer yet. USCIS has indicated that if an H-1B petition is rejected then it can be refiled as long as the refiling is done before the filing window (June 30th).  It is unclear if a petition that is filed but denied can then be refiled using the same registration.   To avoid this risk, we recommend preparing and filing the strongest possible petition during the initial filing.

What are the chances for second (or third) lottery selection?

At this time we do not know the exact number of H-1B cap registrations but from our experience from last year, there was a “second chance” lottery with most of the selections being for U.S. master’s degree cap registrants.   However, we should caution that the chance of selection under the second lottery (if there is one) has been historically very low.

Conclusion

Our office is ready to assist with the preparation and throughout the adjudication process — please contact us as soon as possible.  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.