CSG Law Alert: FY2027 H-1B Cap Has Been Reached
On July 17, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Fiscal Year 2027 H-1B Cap had been reached, confirming they had received sufficient H-1B Regular Cap and H-1B Master’s petitions for the upcoming fiscal year.
Key Takeaways:
- USCIS will not run another H-1B cap lottery selection for FY2027.
- USCIS received more than 211,000 H-1B Registrations for FY2027, a significant drop from the 348,981 registrations for FY2026.
- USCIS has not announced how many petitions were received before the deadline of June 30, 2026.
- This year saw the introduction of the Weighted Lottery system where higher paid, and highly skilled workers would receive priority. USCIS earlier announced that only 17.1% of all selected registrations were for Level I wages and more than 70% of selected beneficiaries held a U.S. Master’s degree or higher.
- Employees who were not selected in this year’s lottery can be registered again next year.
- USCIS will continue to accept cap-exempt H-1B petitions and petitions for H-1B amendments, changes of employer and extensions of stay.
The CSG Law Immigration Group will continue to monitor these developments closely and will provide updates as they become available.
For questions or assistance with alternative work visa options, please email the authors of this alert at immigrationadmin@csglaw.com or contact the CSG Law Immigration Group.