USCIS sends alert for Fiscal Year 2027 H-1B visas, includes ‘master’s cap’; says: We have reached …
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has received enough petitions to meet the H-1B visa cap for Fiscal Year 2027, meaning there will be no additional lottery rounds. In an alert issued on July 17, 2026, the agency said it has reached both the 65,000 regular H-1B visa cap and the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemption, also known as the master’s cap. The update marks the end of this year’s H-1B cap selection process.
USCIS says FY 2027 H-1B cap has been reached
In its alert, USCIS said it has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B visa cap as well as the 20,000 H-1B U.S. advanced degree exemption, commonly known as the master’s cap, for Fiscal Year 2027.The agency will now continue processing petitions that were selected and filed under this year’s cap.“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2027,” the alert read.
No second H-1B lottery expected
The announcement means USCIS is not expected to conduct a second H-1B lottery for FY 2027. The agency typically holds another lottery only if it does not receive enough eligible petitions to meet the annual cap.This year, many applicants and employers had expected the possibility of another selection round because of several major changes to the H-1B process.
FY 2027 brought major changes to H-1B selection
Notably, fiscal Year 2027 was the first year USCIS used a wage-based lottery, replacing the previous random selection system. Under the new process, higher-paying jobs received better chances of selection. The number of H-1B registrations has reportedly declined sharply. About 211,600 registrations were submitted for FY 2027, down from 343,981 for FY 2026.The Trump administration also introduced a $100,000 H-1B petition fee in September 2025, prompting many employers to file fewer registrations and become more selective about the candidates they sponsored.
