The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) suggests that the start date for the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap subject to registration will range from noon Eastern Time on March 4 to noon Eastern Time on March 19, 2026.
Within the specified time frame, the prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioning employers and/or their designated representative shall register each H-1B beneficiary through the USCIS online account, as well as the $215 registration fee for each such employee.
If an employer has not already created a USCIS organizational account, they will be expected to create an account, while a representative can add clients any time during the year, although both will have to wait until March 4 to start entering beneficiary information and initiating registration with payment.
USCIS will conduct the selections after the registration period ends. Next, selected petitioners and representatives will be notified by March 31, 2026, through the account with the USCIS website. Petitioners with selected registration will be eligible to submit H-1B cap petitions, including the advanced degree exemption.
New Selection Rules for FY 2027
Similarly, for FY 2027 cap season, a revised process will be conducted by USCIS for H-1B applications, as provided under a final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security. Therefore, for FY 2027 cap season, if more H-1B registrations are received than are available under the cap, a weighted selection for these Registrations will be conducted by USCIS among these registrants, with priority being given to workers with higher skills and higher salaries. However, if fewer H-1B registrations are received than are available under the cap, all registrants will be selected.
Potential additional fee
As another point, USCIS also noted that another proclamation was issued dated Sept. 19, 2025. The title of the proclamation is Restriction on Entry of Certain Non-immigrant Workers. The proclamation would subject selected petitioners to additional requirements. Even though it does not affect the registration process directly, selected employers may be required to pay an additional fee of $100,000 in order to be eligible to submit an H-1B petition.
The USCIS announced that it plans to add further information to its H-1B Electronic Registration Process page before starting the registration process.
