The initial registration period for the FY 2026 H-1B visa lottery will open March 7, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency has announced.
Employers wanting to file H-1B visa petitions on behalf of foreign worker beneficiaries for FY 2026 (October 1, 2025—September 30, 2026) must submit an electronic H-1B lottery registration between March 7 and March 24, 2025.
After the lottery closes, USCIS will randomly select registrations until it hits the annual caps and will notify successful registrants via email by March 31. Online USCIS accounts should reflect a “Selected” status. Those selected will have 90 days to file a full H-1B petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.
The lottery registration fee has increased from $10 to $215 for this year’s H-1B lottery.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.