U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Announces Initial Registration Window for FY 2026 H-1B Cap
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has officially set the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap. The registration window will open at 10:30 PM IST on March 7, 2025, and close at 10:30 PM IST on March 24, 2025. During this period, employers and legal representatives must utilize a USCIS online account to register beneficiaries and submit the required $215 registration fee per beneficiary.
Beneficiary-Centric Selection Process
Continuing the approach introduced in FY 2025, USCIS will implement a beneficiary-centric selection process. This means that selections will be based on unique beneficiaries rather than the volume of registrations submitted. If USCIS receives a sufficient number of unique registrations by March 24, 2025, selections will be made through a random lottery. In cases where the number of registrations falls below the cap, all properly submitted registrations will be selected.
Key Registration Steps and Employer Guidelines
USCIS Online Account Requirements
Employers without a USCIS online account must create an organizational account to participate in the H-1B registration process.
Employers who had registrant accounts from FY 2021–FY 2024 but were inactive in FY 2025 will have their accounts automatically converted to an organizational account upon their next login.
First-time registrants may create accounts at any time, while representatives can add clients as needed. However, beneficiary information can only be entered beginning March 7, 2025.
Selection Notifications
Selection results will be communicated through USCIS online accounts by March 31, 2025.
There is no advantage to registering on the first day, as selections occur only after the registration period concludes.
Temporary Increase in Payment Limits
In response to past transaction volume exceeding daily credit card limits, the U.S. Department of Treasury has authorized a temporary increase in the daily credit card transaction cap. For the FY 2026 H-1B cap season, the limit will rise from $24,999.99 to $99,999.99. Payments exceeding this threshold must be processed through Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions, which may require prior coordination with financial institutions to remove ACH blocks.
Enhancements to Organizational Accounts
To streamline the H-1B registration and application process, USCIS has introduced several enhancements to organizational and representative accounts:
Paralegals can now collaborate with multiple legal representatives, supporting different attorneys within a single account.
Legal representatives have an improved system for adding paralegals to their company client accounts.
Certain fields in Form I-129 will auto-populate using data from selected H-1B registrations, reducing redundancy and errors.
Employers and representatives can now use bulk uploads to pre-populate registration fields, expediting data entry and submission.
For more details, employers and representatives are encouraged to visit the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page on the USCIS website.