The fiscal year (“FY”) 2027 H-1B cap season will be the first to operate under a weighted selection system that replaces the prior fully random lottery. Employers should understand how this new process affects both the regular (bachelor’s) cap and the advanced degree (master’s) cap, as it changes selection mechanics but not the overall annual numerical limits.
The Congressional limits and the online registration process are unchanged:
- 65,000 regular (bachelor’s) cap.
- 20,000 advanced degree (U.S. master’s or higher) cap.
- Total: 85,000 new cap-subject H-1Bs per FY.
The FY 2027 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 4 and run through noon Eastern on March 19, 2026. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives must create and use a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee.
What Is Changing: Weighted Selection
Under the new rule, USCIS will no longer conduct a purely random lottery. Instead, the number of “entries” a beneficiary receives in the lottery pool is directly tied to the Department of Labor’s four wage levels:
- Registrations offering a Level IV wage receive four entries in the lottery.
- Registrations offering a Level III wage receive three entries in the lottery.
- Registrations offering a Level II wage receive two entries in the lottery.
- Registrations offering a Level I wage receive one entry in the lottery.
This change is designed to prioritize higher-paid, higher-skilled positions by statistically favoring candidates with salary offers that meet the upper tiers of prevailing wages for their specific occupation and location.
How the Selection Will Work in Practice
The process is expected to occur in two stages. USCIS conducts the regular cap lottery first. All properly submitted registrations—regardless of degree level—enter the regular cap pool. USCIS conducts the weighted selection to allocate the 65,000 regular cap numbers. Selected beneficiaries are then eligible to file an H-1B petition with USCIS.
After the regular cap lottery is complete, USCIS conducts a second weighted selection to allocate the 20,000 master’s cap numbers. Only remaining registrations not selected in the regular cap lottery that are eligible for the advanced degree exemption (U.S. master’s or higher) are included. Selected beneficiaries are then eligible to file an H-1B petition with USCIS. Indeed, applicants eligible for the master’s cap lottery get two chances for selection rather than just one.
Practice Pointers for Employers
The FY 2027 H-1B cap season introduces a fundamental shift: selection probability is now influenced by wage level rather than pure chance. While the annual cap numbers remain the same, employers must adopt a more strategic and compliance-focused approach to registration preparation. Early planning, accurate wage analysis and careful documentation will be critical to maximizing success under the new weighted selection system.
Hall Render’s Immigration Team can assist employers in navigating the upcoming FY 2027 H-1B Cap Registration process. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact:
- Michael Kim at (317) 977-1418 or mkim@hallrender.com;
- Lindsay Ramsey at (317) 429-3637 or lramsey@hallrender.com;
- Charlotte Fillenwarth at (317) 977-1476 or cfillenwarth@hallrender.com;
- Moncerrat Alvarez Mora at (317) 977-1477 or mmora@hallrender.com;
- Kip Coljohn at (317) 429-3626 or kcoljohn@hallrender.com; or
- Your primary Hall Render contact.
Hall Render blog posts and articles are intended for informational purposes only. For ethical reasons, Hall Render attorneys cannot give legal advice outside of an attorney-client relationship.
