H-1B visa for US reaches cap for 2026 fiscal year

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday that it has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for the H-1B visa program for the fiscal year 2026.

In an official statement, USCIS confirmed it has reached the 65,000 visa regular cap, along with the additional 20,000 visas allocated under the advanced degree exemption for holders of US master’s degrees or higher.

The agency clarified that it will continue to process petitions that are exempt from the cap, including:

Extensions for current H-1B workers to continue employment in the US.

Petitions to change the terms of employment for existing H-1B holders.

Requests allowing H-1B workers to change employers.

Petitions allowing concurrent H-1B employment with additional employers.

The H-1B program enables US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. USCIS encouraged employers and applicants to subscribe to H-1B cap season updates on its official website.

Those seeking to apply for new H-1B visas will now need to wait for the fiscal year 2027 window to open for new cap-subject applications.

What is the H-1B visa?

It is a non-immigrant visa allowing US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations (such as engineering, IT, medicine, and research) requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent.

Each year in March, employers submit electronic registrations for potential candidates.

If registrations exceed the cap, USCIS conducts a random lottery to select applications for processing.