USCIS Announces H-1B Visa Cap for FY 2026 Has Been Met

USCIS: In a major immigration development, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has officially declared that it has received enough petitions to meet the H-1B Visa Cap for FY 2026. This includes the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B visas and the additional 20,000 visas allocated under the advanced degree exemption, also known as the “master’s cap.”

The H-1B visa program remains a crucial pathway for U.S. employers to fill specialized roles requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. Indian nationals have traditionally dominated the H-1B landscape, and this fiscal cycle is no exception.

USCIS: Cap Reached – Here’s What It Means

Reaching the H-1B Visa Cap for FY 2026 signifies that USCIS will no longer accept new cap-subject petitions for the upcoming fiscal year. However, the agency clarified that it will continue to process petitions that are exempt from the cap. These include:

• Petitions for individuals who have previously been counted under the cap and still retain their H-1B cap number.

• Requests to extend a current H-1B employee’s stay in the U.S.

• Petitions to change the terms of employment for an existing H-1B worker.

• Applications to transfer employment to a new employer.

• Requests allowing H-1B workers to take on concurrent roles with additional employers.

“This announcement only applies to new petitions that are subject to the cap,” stated a USCIS spokesperson. “Cap-exempt cases and amendments related to current H-1B holders will still be accepted and reviewed as usual.”

A Sharp Drop in Registrations This Year

USCIS shared new data that offers insights into application trends. For FY 2026, the agency received 343,981 eligible registrations, significantly down from the 470,342 registrations submitted in FY 2025 — a striking 26.9% decrease.

Of the total registrations received this year, 7,828 were for beneficiaries with multiple eligible submissions, compared to 47,314 in the previous year. The agency selected 120,141 registrations for further processing in FY 2026, down from 135,137 the year before.

Interestingly, the average number of registrations per beneficiary has dropped. “We saw an average of 1.01 registrations per beneficiary this year, compared to 1.06 for FY 2025. This means, on average, each beneficiary only had approximately one registration submitted on their behalf,” USCIS reported.

USCIS: From Lottery to Final Petition – The Two-Phase Process

Back in April 2025, USCIS conducted its lottery and selected registrations to move forward. Selected applicants were then invited to file their full H-1B petitions. The recent announcement now confirms that enough complete and valid petitions have been received to exhaust the H-1B Visa Cap for FY 2026.

This second step — the filing and acceptance of full petitions — is crucial because not all selected registrants complete the process. The cap is only officially met when the USCIS receives a sufficient number of complete, approvable petitions.

Implications for Employers and Foreign Workers

While the cap being reached might feel like a closed door for many, employers still have options. Organizations seeking to hire or retain foreign talent can continue filing for:

• Extensions and amendments for existing H-1B holders

• Transfers for H-1B employees moving between employers

• Dual employment requests for concurrent H-1B roles

Moreover, certain employers such as universities and nonprofit research institutions remain cap-exempt, meaning they can file H-1B petitions throughout the year, unaffected by the cap.

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