H-1B update: No second lottery, USCIS says it has received enough petitions for FY 2027

In a major update, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday that there will be no second lottery for FY2027. “US 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 US advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2027,” the agency said.The agency holds a second round of lottery when they do not meet the cap. This year, there was a hope for a second or even a third round of lottery as this year’s H-1B lottery was different. For the first time, USCIS held a wage-based lottery instead of a random one, and this is also the first time employers have to pay $100K for each H-1B petition they file.Lower number of registrations: Owing to several new rules, this time there were fewer registrations for the lottery. Experts believed that the lower number might open up a greater chance for a second or third round of the lottery. About 211,600 H-1B registrations were filed for FY 2027 compared to 343,981 for FY2026.Wage-based lottery: FY 2027 was the first year USCIS used a wage-based lottery, replacing the previous random selection process. Higher-paying jobs received better odds of selection. Because employers were entering unfamiliar territory, some experts expected filing behavior to be less predictable.New $100K fee: The Trump administration also introduced a $100,000 H-1B fee, making employers much more selective about whom they registered. Many companies submitted fewer registrations than in previous years. It was expected that many employers may not file the petition even after an employee is picked up by the lottery because of the fee.