Overview
- USCIS announced on July 17 that it received enough petitions to meet both the 65,000 regular H‑1B slots and the 20,000 U.S. advanced‑degree slots, so no additional selection rounds will be held for FY2027.
- Employers whose registrations were selected had to file full I‑129 petitions by June 30, 2026, and approved beneficiaries under this cap can begin work in the United States on October 1, 2026.
- USCIS reported 211,600 registrations for FY2027, a drop of about 38.5% from the prior year, a fall observers link to the new wage‑weighted lottery and the $100,000 petition fee that made sponsors more selective.
- The FY2027 lottery used a new wage‑based weighted selection that boosted chances for higher‑paid job offers; USCIS said 71.5% of selected registrations showed a U.S. master’s degree and just 17.7% were in the lowest wage category.
- USCIS has published only limited selection metrics via social media and has not posted full FY2027 statistics on its website, leaving questions about detailed selection rates and prompting affected applicants to consider alternative visa paths or next year’s cycle.