In the US Economy the H1B Visa plays a crucial role by permitting the American Companies to hire workers with high skills in specialized occupation. Are you an employer who looks to bring in top talent or a foreign national who is trying to work in the United states, then it is very important to understand the process of H1B Visa. 

The FY 2026 H-1B cap uses the beneficiary-centric selection process which is already launched in FY 2025. For FY 2026, Various improvements are made for representative accounts and organizational accounts by permitting them to prepare the H-1B registration, Form I-129 H-1B petitions, then Form I-907 ask for premium processing for various distinct attorneys, all within one paralegal account. 

The fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap registration process  will get start at noon 

Eastern on March 7, and it will continue till noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. It is important to use USCIS online accounts to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary.

1. Understanding the H-1B Lottery System

The H-1B Lottery is an important system for employers to  hire international talent in a special occupation. The Annually issued H-1B lottery is annually enclosed because of enhancement of demand. When the demand is more than the supply, then a lottery system randomly selects petitions for processing. 

As per the April 1, 2024 announcement, enough electronic registrations have been received at the time of initial registration period to reach the fiscal year 2025 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), inclusive of the advanced degree exemption, which is also known as master’s cap.

subsequent announcements are made to select additional registrations for unique beneficiaries to reach the FY 2025 regular cap numerical allocations. In the second selection for the FY 2025 H-1B regular cap 13,607 beneficiaries were selected. That resulted in 14,534 selected registrations. As per the December 2, 2024 Announcement, enough petitions have been received to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. 

Advanced Degree exemption, called as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2025. People with selected registrations are eligible to file H-1B Cap-subject Petitions. The registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap will begin at noon Eastern on March 7 and till  noon Eastern on March 24, 2025.

2. Timeline for the FY 2026 H-1B Lottery

The registration Period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap will begin at noon Eastern on March 7 and continue through noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. Throughout this period, representatives and prospective petitioners should use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the registration fee $215 H-1B for each beneficiary. 

The Time Line for FY 2026 H-1B Lottery registration is:
         On Feb. 28, the Petitioners and registrants can start creating H-1B registrant account

         On March 6: H-1B opening of registration period

         On March 31: USCIS expects to inform selected registrants.

         April 1: Date that FY 2025 H-1B cap-subject petitions based on the selected registrations during the initial FY 2025 selection period. This may be filed during this date.

The selection process begins after the conclusion of  initial registration. For each registration process the registrant’s USCIS online account will have one of the following statuses:Selected, Not Selected, Submitted,  Denied – duplicate registration, Deleted,  Invalidated - failed payment, Processing submission. Once the Registrations are selected then the selected candidates are eligible to file H-1B Cap-subject petitions.

3. Step-by-Step Application Process

Step 1: Find a Sponsor (Employer)

H-1B visas can be sponsored by any US-based employer. To find an H-1B sponsoring employer, simply look at the website H1BGrader.com, which has the complete database of H1B Visa Sponsors. 

Step 2: Create a USCIS Online Account

To create and submit H-1B registrations, the representatives and registrants should wait till 1st March. USCIS launched the new USCIS organizational accounts on 28th February 2024. This will allow many people within the organization and their legal representatives to cooperate and allow them to prepare H-1B registrations, H-1B petitions, requests for premium processing service, and any associated Form I-907. While making the H1B electronic registration, avoid some common mistakes like entering the same beneficiary more than once and creating the wrong type of account. Employers must avoid duplicate entries while registering.

Step 3: Submit H-1B Lottery Registration

During the process of H-1B Lottery Registration, each beneficiary must only register under one passport or under one travel document. For each beneficiary, registrants should provide valid passport information or valid travel document information. The registrants are required to pay the non-refundable H-1B registration fee for each beneficiary before getting eligible to submit a registration. The registration fee will remain $10 during the registration period in March 2024.

Step 4: Wait for Lottery Results

USCIS randomly selects the eligible aspirants in the regular H-1B cap, those who complete the registration of H-1B, including foreign workers with a bachelor's degree and higher. If the aspirant does not get selected in the H-1B lottery, then the employee can try in the next year’s lottery.

If USCIS selected the registration, then the aspirants must indicate a start date of 1st October or later of the appropriate fiscal year, which is 6 months or less from the receipt date of the petition on their petition.

Step 5: File the H-1B Petition (Form I-129)

During the preparation of the H-1B petition, the employers should include the certified LCA with the petition, fees, and additional documentation such as evidence of your education, any training certificates or professional membership documents if applicable, your resume, an employment confirmation letter, a letter of support, and any necessary fees. The application processing of H1B can be unpredictable, and it is affected by some factors like the annual cap, service center workload, and whether premium processing is used. 

Step 6: Wait for USCIS Decision

Under this process, the USCIS reviews the petition. If additional details are needed, then the USCIS may issue an RFE, “Request for Evidence.”. USCIS may approve or deny the petition. If the RFE is issued, then carefully Read out the complete RFE, then review your original application package, then prepare your response package, address missing documents, then write a cover letter, meet the deadline, and keep records.

Step 7: Attend Visa Interview (If Applying from Outside the U.S.)

At the time US student’s visa interview, consular officer will check whether they are qualified to receive a visa or not. Students need to set up the requirements under the US Law to receive the

category of visa for which they are applying for. Some of the common questions during the interview are , reason for choosing for further study, what is your major, where you did your schooling, current employer or do you work?, reason for planning to continue your education, why you don't want to study in your study in your home country and so on.

4. Alternatives If Not Selected in the Lottery

In case if you are rejected in the H- 1B Lottery then, the P-1 and O-1, L-1 visa offers you  an alternative . O-1 provides to those who are with extraordinary abilities in education, sciences, arts, business, athletics, and etc. P-1 isd fully for entertainers, athletes, and their support staff, allowing participation in events, performances in the U.S, competetion. And L-1 visa provides intracompany transfers for multinational corporations, by allowing them to relocate employees to their U.S. branches. Green Card could be a feasible way in case of  adequate time to navigate the application process before the current employment authorization expires.

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

It will be better if the applicants avoid making mistakes like filling the form with incorrect or incomplete details, usage of outdated forms, incorrect visa classification, insufficiency of supporting documentation, and fail to translate documents. 

Conclusion

 Follow the tips given in the blog to get your application selected, and avoid making the above discussed mistakes in the Application process of H-1B Lottery. In case of rejection of application, try again for applying to the H-1B Lottery.