H-1B Season is here.  Are you ready?

It is H-1B Cap Season again for Fiscal Year 2026 (October 1, 2025). Like in prior years, there will be a two-step process – the registration step and then, if the registration is selected in the H-1B cap lottery, the petition step. 

Now is the time to start getting ready for the registration process and to review any potential H-1B petition issues.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will again use the electronic registration tool as part of the H-1B lottery process. The 2019 regulations introduced this electronic registration process, requiring employers first to file registrations seeking the opportunity to file H-1B Petitions for the beneficiaries in the selected registrations. Last year, almost 781,000,000 registrations were filed for the 85,000 H-1B cap visas available (20,000 slots are allocated to persons with advanced degrees from eligible U.S. institutions of higher education).

USCIS has yet to announce when the H-1B lottery will open. Last year, registration was open from noon Eastern Time March 1, 2024, through noon Eastern Time March 17, 2024. We expect the FY26 period to be similar.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued the H1-B Modernization Rule that went into effect on January 17, 2025. This rule is aimed at modernizing the H-1B program. There are very important changes. You can learn more about these changes at DHS Announces H-1B Modernization Rule. It is therefore imperative that you have all your H-1B filings ready to go so they can be adapted to the new processes. 

Registrations will be for periods of employment that begin October 1, 2025.

The online registration form will request basic information from the employer and employee and is expected to be identical to last year’s form. The information requested for registration includes:

  • The employer’s name, Federal Employer Identification Number, and primary office address.
  • The name, job title, daytime phone, and email address of the employer’s authorized representative.
  • The beneficiary’s full name, date of birth, country of birth, country of citizenship, gender, and passport number.
  • Whether the beneficiary has earned a master’s degree or higher degree from a U.S. institution and the name of the institution. 

Under the current system, if the number of registrations exceeds the annual cap of 85,000 visas, the USCIS will make random selections, but only from among the candidates who have been registered. If there are not enough registrations, the USCIS may continue accepting submitted registrations or open a new registration period. If the random selection process is necessary, the USCIS will notify those who filed registrations whether their registration was selected. 

Last year, USCIS notified selectees at the end of March. We again expect to receive notification at the end of March.

Planning for this year’s H-1B Cap is the first step in the selection strategy to ensure accurate and timely filing. Employers should do the following:

  1. Identify H-1B candidates. Typically, these may include the following: Employees working in F-1 student status with an employment authorization document (STEM or non-STEM), or derivative H-4 spouse with employment authorization document. TN NAFTA or E-3 Australian national professional workers who may want to pursue permanent residence in the United States (it is legally preferable first to be in H-1B status before filing for permanent residence). L-1B multinational professional level specialized knowledge employees. 
  2. Review and finalize job offers, descriptions and salaries. 
  3. Ensure there is a direct connection between the candidate’s educational level, type of degree and courses studied and the offered job duties. 
  4. Gather the relevant documents needed to prepare the H-1B petition. 

We strongly recommend that you contact us as soon as possible and before March 1, 2025 so that we can assist you with the H-1B registration process.   info@pollakimmigration.com

 

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