H-1B Registration for FY 2026: What You Need to Know

Big news for employers and immigration attorneys! USCIS has just announced the timeline
for the upcoming H-1B visa registration period. If you're planning to sponsor employees for
H-1B visas in the next fiscal year, here's everything you need to know.

Key Dates to Remember and Registration Fee Increase

The initial registration window for the FY 2026 H-1B cap will open on March 7, 2025, at
noon Eastern and close on March 24, 2025, at noon Eastern. During this period, employers
and their representatives must register each potential H-1B employee through the USCIS
online portal and pay the $215 registration fee per beneficiary (an increase from previous
year’s $10 fee per beneficiary).

Getting Your Account Ready

If you're an employer who hasn't created a USCIS online account yet, now's the time to set
up your organizational account. For those who had an H-1B registrant account for previous
seasons (FY 2021-2024) but didn't use it for FY 2025, your existing account will
automatically convert to an organizational account after your next login.

First-time users can create an account anytime before the registration period. USCIS
provides helpful resources and step-by-step videos on their Organizational Accounts FAQ
page, which will be updated with FY 2026 information before registration begins.

No Rush on Day One

While representatives can add clients to their accounts at any time, both representatives
and employers need to wait until March 7 to enter beneficiary information and submit
registrations with the $215 fee. Since selections happen after the registration period closes,
there's no advantage to registering on the opening day.

Beneficiary-Centric Selection Process Continues

Like last year, USCIS will use the beneficiary-centric selection process for FY 2026. This
means registrations are selected by unique beneficiary rather than by registration, which
helps prevent multiple submissions for the same person from skewing the lottery odds.

USCIS plans to notify selected registrants by March 31 through their online accounts.

Higher Credit Card Transaction Limits

Good news for companies registering multiple employees! The Treasury Department has
temporarily increased the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $99,999.99
for this H-1B season. For transactions exceeding this amount, you can use Automated
Clearing House (ACH) payments, though you might need to alert your bank in advance to
remove any ACH blocks.

New System Enhancements for FY 2026

USCIS has made several improvements to the organizational and representative accounts
for this year:

· Paralegals can now work with multiple legal representatives in a single account

· Legal representatives have an easier way to add paralegals to company clients

· Certain Form I-129 fields will be pre-populated from selected H-1B registrations

· You can prepare and upload spreadsheets of H-1B beneficiary data to pre-populate
registration information

These upgrades will be available before registration opens on March 7.

Remember that only selected registrations can proceed to filing an H-1B petition. For more
details, visit the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page on the USCIS website.

Are you planning to register employees for the H-1B lottery this year? What has your
experience been with the electronic registration system?