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If your business hires foreign workers for specialty occupations, you likely know the importance of the H-1B visa. This non-immigrant visa allows US employers to employ foreign employees temporarily. Note that you can only register during a specific timeframe.

On February 5, 2025, USCIS announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap opens on March 7, 2025, at noon Eastern Time, and closes on March 24, 2025, at noon Eastern Time.

During this window, you or your authorized representative (such as an H1B lawyer in New York) must create a USCIS online account and register each beneficiary for the selection process. There’s a $215 registration fee for each beneficiary.

Navigating the registration process

Do you need help navigating the H-1B visa cap registration for FY 2026? Our H1B lawyers in New York here at Berd & Klauss, PLLC can assist you. We can act as your authorized representative and utilize your USCIS online account to electronically register your beneficiaries.

In this blog, we will share the key updates about the H-1B visa cap registration for the 2026 fiscal year. Read on and be guided on the changes to ensure timely registrations and help prospective foreign workers secure their visas smoothly.

Creating an organizational account

As an H-1B petitioning employer, you need a dedicated USCIS organizational account online to register prospective foreign employees for FY 2026. If you had an account from the FY 2021 to FY 2024 registration periods but didn’t use it for FY 2025, simply log in, and you’ll be prompted to convert it to an organizational account.

When to register

If you’re a first-time registrant, you can create your USCIS online account at any time. Your representative or H1B lawyer in New York can also add clients to your account. However, you must wait until March 7, 2025 (noon Eastern Time) to input beneficiary information and pay the $215 registration fee.

Remember that registrations are selected only after the initial registration period ends. So, you don’t need to rush to register on March 7th. Just make sure you complete the registration before the deadline: March 24, 2025, at noon Eastern Time.

The selection process

For the FY 2026 H-1B visa cap, USCIS will continue using the beneficiary-centric selection process introduced in FY 2025. This means that selections are made based on individual beneficiaries — not on the number of registrations submitted by an employer.

If USCIS receives enough unique beneficiary registrations by the March 24th deadline, they will conduct a random lottery to select beneficiaries. Notification of selection will be sent to users through their USCIS online accounts. If, however, there are insufficient unique beneficiary registrations, all properly submitted registrations within the initial period will be selected.

USCIS will notify prospective petitioners and their authorized representatives of the selection results by March 31st. You or your H1B lawyer in New York will receive notification if any of your registered beneficiaries are selected.

Daily credit card transaction limit for FY 2026 H-1B Visa Cap Registration

The US Department of Treasury has temporarily increased the daily transaction limit for the FY 2026 H-1B cap registration season from $24,999.99 to $99,999.99. This adjustment addresses the issue of previous H-1B registration periods where the number of transactions exceeded the former daily limit.

For transactions exceeding $99,999.99, payments can be made through the Automated Clearing House (ACH). To avoid potential issues, notify your bank in advance and ensure that your account is authorized for ACH transactions with USCIS.

USCIS will release further details before the start of the FY 2026 H-1B registration period. Your H1B lawyer in New York at Berd & Klauss will also provide you with timely updates.

H-1B cap-subject petitions

Only employers whose H-1B registrations are selected can file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those for beneficiaries with advanced degrees.

Improved organization accounts for FY 2026 H-1B visa registrations

USCIS has expanded the functionality of organizational and representative accounts for H-1B visa filings. These enhancements will be implemented before the initial registration period begins:

• Paralegals can now work with multiple legal representatives, including different H1B lawyers in New York. They can accept invitations from various legal representative accounts, allowing them to prepare H-1B registrations, Form I-907 requests, and Form I-129 H-1B petitions for multiple attorneys using a single account.
• Legal representatives can now add paralegals to their company client accounts.
• Employers can upload a spreadsheet of H-1B beneficiary data to pre-populate information during the H-1B registration process.
• Certain fields in Form I-129 can be pre-populated using data from selected H-1B registrations.

Stay on top of H-1B visa cap registrations with an immigration attorney

An H1B lawyer in New York will eliminate the guesswork from registrations in FY 2026. Don’t hesitate to call us at 212-461-7152 so our immigration attorneys at Berd & Klauss, PLLC, can assist you.