U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on July 18, 2025 that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. This includes both the regular cap of 65,000 petitions and the additional 20,000 petitions allocated for individuals. Unlike previous years, there was only one round of H-1B registration selections, which took place in March 2025. No further selection rounds will be conducted for FY 2026. The next lottery registration period will likely take place in March 2026 for FY 2027.
Despite the cap being reached, USCIS will continue to accept and adjudicate H-1B petitions that are not subject to the annual cap.
In the coming days, USCIS will begin updating online accounts associated with unselected H-1B registrations. Employers and authorized representatives will see the status of those registrations change from “Submitted” to “Not Selected”, confirming that the petition was not chosen in the lottery.
If you have any questions, please reach out to the US Immigration team at Magrath Sheldrick, [email protected] and [email protected].
Author
Expert advice, straight to your inbox
Sign upRelated News
The most important updates and how they affect you
Thailand: Mandatory Online Registration for Companies Using the Single Window System
Effective 1st August, the Thai government has implemented a new mandatory online registration for all BOI’s promoted companies that use the Single Window System for processing work permit and visa applications. Under this new regulation, all BOI companies must register a new user account to continue accessing the system, even if they have an existing account….
Read More