The registration period for the FY 2026 H-1B cap lottery opens 12 pm EST on March 7^th and runs until 12 pm EST on March 24^th, 2025. Registrants and their representatives must use an online USCIS account to register electronically and pay the required $215 H-1B registration fee for each submitted beneficiary. Online registration is the sole avenue potential applicants, or their representatives must apply through.

H-1B petitioning employers must have a USCIS account to apply. If employers had a H-1B registration account for the FY 2021 – FY 2024 registration seasons but did not use it for the FY 2025 registration season, the existing account will be converted to an organizational account after the next login. Representatives can add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants cannot enter beneficiary information and submit registration before March 7^th. Selection will only begin after the registration period ends, so there is no rush to register right on March 7^th.

The FY 2026 H-1B cap uses the beneficiary-centric selection process launched the previous fiscal year. This process selects registrations by unique beneficiary rather than by their date or form of registration. Registrations received before the March 24^th deadline will be randomly selected for beneficiaries via lottery. If selected, beneficiary recipients and their representatives are notified via their USCIS online account email by March 31^st.

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