The H-1B cap lottery is the randomized selection USCIS runs each spring when employers submit more registrations than the 85,000 new H-1B visas Congress allows for the coming fiscal year. Starting with FY 2027, the draw is no longer purely random: USCIS weights selection toward higher-paid workers, while still counting each person once no matter how many employers registered them.
How the Annual Cap Is Divided
Two pools make up the 85,000 slots. The regular cap holds 65,000 visas for specialty-occupation workers. A separate 20,000 are reserved for workers who hold a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. college or university. The count resets every October 1, the start of the federal fiscal year.1USAGov. The Federal Budget Process
Not every H-1B job runs through the lottery. Workers hired by universities, nonprofit research organizations, and certain government research entities are cap-exempt, and their employers can file petitions any time of year. The lottery only governs new cap-subject petitions from private and for-profit employers.
When Registration Happens and What It Costs
Employers don’t file a full petition to enter the lottery. They submit a short electronic registration for each worker they want to sponsor. For FY 2027, the registration window opened at noon Eastern on March 4 and closed at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on March 19, 2026.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process
Each registration lists the employer’s legal name and federal employer identification number along with the beneficiary’s full legal name, date of birth, country of birth, citizenship, and passport number. Starting with FY 2027, the employer also has to report the highest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level that the offered salary meets or exceeds for that job in that location.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process That wage figure feeds directly into the new selection formula.
The fee is $215 per worker, up sharply from the $10 charged when electronic registration first launched. It is nonrefundable, and once you submit, the beneficiary information is locked. Careful review before hitting submit is essential.
One Beneficiary, One Entry
USCIS uses a beneficiary-centric lottery. Under the older system, each individual registration got an equal shot, so a worker registered by five different employers had roughly five chances. That opened the door to duplicate registrations filed through shell companies, and fraud surged.
The current approach draws unique beneficiaries based on their passport or travel document information, not individual registrations. If ten employers register the same person, that person still gets one chance. When their name is drawn, every employer who registered them receives a selection notice and can move forward with a petition.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process USCIS has reported a sharp drop in duplicate filings since the change.
Wage-Weighted Selection for FY 2027
This is the change that matters most for your odds. Effective February 27, 2026, a final rule replaced the pure random draw with a weighted selection. When registrations exceed the available slots, USCIS conducts the selection based generally on the highest OEWS wage level that the beneficiary’s offered salary equals or exceeds.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process
OEWS runs from Level I, typically entry-level pay, up to Level IV, typically experienced professional and managerial pay. Under weighted selection, a Level IV registration has better odds than a Level III, which has better odds than a Level II, and so on. Lower-wage registrations are not shut out, but the probability tilts up the wage ladder. For workers, the practical result is that the salary an employer puts on your registration now affects whether you make it through the draw at all.
How the Two Pools Get Drawn
The selection runs in two stages. First, every registration goes into the pool for the 65,000 regular cap visas, whether or not the beneficiary holds an advanced U.S. degree. Beneficiaries with a U.S. master’s or higher who aren’t picked in that first stage then enter a second draw for the 20,000 advanced-degree slots.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants Advanced-degree holders effectively get two chances.
The wage weighting applies inside each pool. A Level IV registration has an edge in the regular cap draw, and again in the advanced-degree draw for master’s-and-above candidates who weren’t picked the first time.
If Your Registration Is Selected
Selection is permission to file, not an approved visa. USCIS gives employers a filing window of at least 90 days to submit a complete H-1B petition on Form I-129. For FY 2027, only the 02/27/26 edition of the form is accepted; older versions get rejected.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FY 2027 H-1B Initial Registration Selection Process Completed
Before filing the I-129, the employer must obtain a certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor. The LCA commits the employer to paying the prevailing wage for that occupation and location, or the actual wage paid to comparable current employees, whichever is higher.5Foreign Labor Certification. Prevailing Wages
Once USCIS accepts the petition, it issues Form I-797 as the official receipt with a tracking number.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions Approval of the petition is what authorizes the worker to start H-1B employment, usually on October 1. Between government fees and attorney costs, a single H-1B petition commonly runs $5,000 to $12,000 or more, and by law the employer pays the required government filing fees.
If You Are Not Selected
Missing the initial draw doesn’t always close out the fiscal year. If USCIS decides the first round won’t yield enough filed petitions to fill 85,000 slots, it runs additional rounds from the remaining pool. Second and third selections have gone out well into the summer in past years.
If no round picks you, the usual options are to register again next spring, look for a cap-exempt employer, or pursue a different visa category that doesn’t face a numerical cap. Workers currently on OPT in a qualifying field may be able to use the STEM OPT extension for up to 24 more months of work authorization while trying again.
Cap-Gap Extension for F-1 Students
If you’re on F-1 status with OPT or STEM OPT and an employer files a cap-subject H-1B petition for you, cap-gap can bridge the time between your OPT expiration and the October 1 start date. The petition has to request a change of status with an October 1 start date and be received by USCIS before your OPT authorization expires. When it qualifies, your F-1 status and work authorization both extend automatically through September 30.
Timing has a sharp edge. If the petition is received during the 60-day grace period after OPT expires rather than before, your status extends but your work authorization does not, meaning you can remain in the country but cannot work until October 1. Cap-gap also does not apply if your employer chooses consular processing instead of a change of status, so that choice is worth raising with your employer early.