The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the registration period for the FY 2026 H-1B visa.
Registration will open on March 7 and close on March 24, 2025. To apply, you must have a USCIS online account and pay a registration fee.
Registration Process
Employers who want to apply for the H-1B visa for their employees must create an organizational account.
Applicants, including those applying for the first time, also need to create an account and pay the registration fee.
USCIS will use a selection process based on the needs of the beneficiaries.
If enough applicants are selected by March 24, USCIS will notify the applicants through their online accounts.
Eligibility for the H-1B Visa
The H-1B visa allows foreign workers to temporarily work in specialized fields, such as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific field. The latest rules for H-1B visa applications came into effect on January 17, 2025.
Additionally, the US Department of Treasury has increased the daily credit card transaction limit for the FY 2026 H-1B season.
History of the H-1B Visa
Introduced in 1990, the H-1B visa allows foreign nationals with expertise in specialized fields to work temporarily in the US.
It is mainly used by major tech companies like Infosys, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Google to hire foreign workers.
Decrease in Applications Last Year
Last year, USCIS made stricter rules regarding multiple applications, which led to fewer applications for the H-1B visa lottery.
For the 2024 lottery, USCIS received 470,342 applications, down from 758,994 the previous year, due to a reduction in multiple applications.
