H-1B Cap Season
USCIS Filled the FY 2027 H-1B Cap on July 17. No Second Lottery Is Coming. Here Is Where Things Stand.
On July 17, 2026, USCIS confirmed that all 85,000 FY 2027 H-1B cap slots have been filled — 65,000 regular plus 20,000 master's exemption. The filing window closed June 30. No additional selection rounds will happen. Here is what the cap closure means for pending petitions, unselected workers, and anyone planning for FY 2028.
What USCIS confirmed on July 17
USCIS published an alert on July 17, 2026 confirming that the agency has received sufficient petitions to meet both the 65,000 regular H-1B cap and the 20,000 advanced degree (master's) exemption for fiscal year 2027. Both buckets are full. No additional selection rounds will be conducted.
The filing window for FY 2027 cap-subject H-1B petitions ran April 1 through June 30, 2026. That window closed three weeks before the July 17 announcement. The announcement is not a filing deadline — it is USCIS confirming, retroactively, that the cap has been met by the petitions submitted during that window. If a complete I-129 petition with all required documentation and fees was not submitted before June 30, that registration cannot be activated.
The timing is notable. In prior cap years, USCIS typically confirmed cap completion closer to September or October. The earlier July closure reflects two overlapping factors: the $100,000 proclamation fee that attached to every cap-subject petition filed since September 2025, and the new weighted lottery that concentrated registrations among higher-confidence, higher-wage candidates. Employers who registered this cycle were more likely to follow through and file on selection.
There is no second lottery and no reserve pool
The term 'second lottery' circulates in forums every cap season and means different things to different people. One version: after the initial random selection in March, does USCIS conduct additional selection rounds if some selected registrants don't file petitions? The answer is: USCIS can draw additional registrations from the remaining pool if the cap is not yet met. The July 17 announcement forecloses that possibility for FY 2027. The cap is met. No additional draws are scheduled.
A related question: if USCIS receives petitions that are later denied or withdrawn, does that reopen cap slots? The answer is largely no. When USCIS processes cap-subject petitions, the slots are counted against the statutory cap and generally not recycled mid-year for new cap-subject filings. The annual quota does not replenish within a fiscal year as denials come in.
If your USCIS online account showed 'Not Selected' when notifications went out in March 2026, the July 17 announcement has no practical effect on your situation. A not-selected registration does not convert to selected because the cap fills. The two facts are unrelated.
What still moves forward: extensions, transfers, and cap-exempt filings
Cap filled does not mean H-1B stopped. USCIS continues accepting and processing cap-exempt H-1B petitions without interruption. Extensions of stay for current H-1B workers — Form I-129 for a new three-year term — are cap-exempt. The July 17 announcement does not affect them.
Portability filings — technically an I-129 change of employer or concurrent employment petition — also continue. If you are currently in H-1B status from a prior cap year and want to move to a new employer, the new employer can file on your behalf right now. No lottery, no registration, no cap exposure. The cap only applies to new entrants entering H-1B for the first time.
Amendments to existing H-1B petitions are also cap-exempt: work location changes, salary changes, or other modifications to the terms of employment continue regardless of cap status. And cap-exempt employers — institutions of higher education, affiliated nonprofit entities, and government research organizations — can file H-1B petitions at any time of year without cap exposure. None of that activity has changed.
The $100,000 fee on pending FY 2027 petitions
Every FY 2027 cap-subject H-1B petition filed between April 1 and June 30, 2026 was subject to the $100,000 Presidential Proclamation fee that took effect September 21, 2025. Employers who filed during that window paid a significant sum to get their petitions into the queue. Those petitions are now pending at USCIS and being adjudicated.
The proclamation creating that fee was scheduled to expire around September 2026 unless extended. That expiration timeline, if it holds, does not affect petitions already filed and in the queue. The fee obligation was satisfied at the time of filing. There is no partial refund mechanism if the proclamation lapses before USCIS issues a decision.
For petitions filed under premium processing — the $2,805 option that guarantees an initial adjudication within 15 business days — many decisions have already been issued. Non-premium petitions can expect several more months of processing before decisions arrive. FY 2027 H-1B status begins October 1, 2026, so approved petitions — whether decided before or after October 1 — are valid for the fiscal year.
If you were not selected: what your options are right now
For workers who were not selected in the March 2026 lottery, the next realistic H-1B cap opportunity is FY 2028. The FY 2028 registration window is expected to open in March 2027 — approximately nine months from now. That wait is real, but not indefinite, and what you can do during those nine months depends entirely on what immigration status you currently hold.
F-1 students on OPT or STEM OPT have the most runway. A 24-month STEM OPT extension tied to a STEM degree gives you through roughly 2028 or 2029 depending on your graduation date, which covers two additional lottery cycles for FY 2028 and potentially FY 2029. A single non-selection is not a dead end if STEM OPT time remains. The priority in that situation is ensuring the OPT authorization is in order and that STEM OPT employer attestation requirements are current.
Cap-exempt employment is worth examining seriously rather than treating as a fallback. If you have a genuine employment relationship available with a university, affiliated teaching hospital, nonprofit research organization, or government research entity, H-1B through a cap-exempt employer does not require lottery participation at all. The employment has to be real — USCIS scrutinizes arrangements that look like workarounds — but for people in research, clinical, teaching, or academic roles, this is a legitimate path that operates independently of the annual cap cycle.
O-1A and other cap-free nonimmigrant options
The O-1A extraordinary ability visa has no annual cap, no registration window, and no lottery. Petitions can be filed at any time. The tradeoff is the evidentiary standard: USCIS requires documentation of extraordinary ability in the field — not just good performance or a solid career, but evidence placing the applicant in the upper tier of the profession. Publications, patents, high compensation relative to industry norms, judging roles, peer recognition, media coverage, and critical roles at distinguished organizations are among the criteria.
O-1A shares significant evidentiary overlap with EB-1A extraordinary ability in the employment-based green card system. A well-documented O-1A record is often the foundation of a strong EB-1A petition. Pursuing O-1A after a cap non-selection is not an either-or choice against future H-1B attempts — someone can hold O-1A status while registering for H-1B cap in subsequent years.
Other cap-free nonimmigrant options worth knowing: L-1 intracompany transferee visas for people moving within a qualifying multinational organization, E-3 for Australian nationals in specialty occupations, and TN for Canadians and Mexicans in NAFTA-eligible occupations. None of these involve H-1B cap registration. Each has its own eligibility requirements and limitations.
Nine months until FY 2028 — what matters before March 2027
The FY 2028 registration window is expected to open in March 2027. The wage-level weighted lottery will still govern selection unless DHS revises the rule, which requires a full notice-and-comment rulemaking — not a rapid process. What may change is the $100,000 proclamation fee, scheduled to expire around September 2026. If it is not renewed, FY 2028 would be the first registration cycle since 2025 without the additional $100,000 per-petition cost, which would likely increase registration volume significantly.
Higher volume means lower per-tier selection odds under the weighted system. For workers and employers planning ahead, the question is not just whether to register for FY 2028 — it is which wage level to target. Someone who registered Level I in FY 2027 with roughly 15 percent odds should assess whether a genuine move to Level II or III is feasible with their employer before March 2027. The weighted system directly rewards that kind of planning.
This article is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. H-1B cap strategy, options for non-selected workers, and the specifics of cap-exempt employment, O-1A eligibility, or FY 2028 planning should be discussed with a licensed immigration attorney who can review your specific situation and current immigration status.