US CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES UPDATES: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the registration period for H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2026 will start on March 7, 2025. This period will close on March 24, 2025. The H-1B visa is very popular among Indian IT professionals. It allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in jobs that need special skills or knowledge.
The registration process will begin at 12.00 PM Eastern Time on March 7, which is 10:30 PM IST. It will end at 12:00 PM Eastern Time on March 24, 2025 (10:30 PM IST). During this time, people looking to apply for the visa must register online with USCIS. They also need to pay a $215 registration fee for each person they want to apply for.
This year, the registration process will follow a new system that focuses on each individual person applying for the visa, not the company. This system aims to make the process fairer and reduce fraud. This change started in 2025 and is being used again in 2026.
The H-1B visa is important for companies in the U.S., especially in technology, as it allows them to hire many skilled workers from countries like India and China. Each year, there are 65,000 H-1B visas available, plus an extra 20,000 for people with higher education from the U.S.
If enough people register by the deadline, USCIS will randomly select the applicants and send notifications through their USCIS online accounts. If there are not enough registrations, all valid registrations will be selected.
H-1B Visa Caps
The H-1B visa has a limit of 65,000 visas available each year, which is known as the regular cap. There is also an extra 20,000 visas for people with a master's degree or higher from a U.S. school, called the master's cap. If more people apply for the H-1B visa than there are visas available, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) holds a random lottery. This lottery picks the people who can apply for an H-1B visa. If someone is selected, they are told what to do next and when to apply. Then, the employer can submit an H-1B petition for each selected person.