H-1B Lottery Reform: What the New Registration Rules Mean for Applicants

The H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign nationals in specialty occupations, has undergone significant structural changes to its selection process. Starting with the fiscal year 2025 cap season, USCIS shifted how it counts lottery registrations - moving from a system based on the number of registrations submitted to one based on the number of unique beneficiaries. This change directly affects how employers and staffing firms approach the annual cap filing process.

For years, the old system rewarded volume. Employers - or in many documented cases, consulting firms and staffing agencies - could submit multiple registrations for a single worker across several petitioning entities, statistically improving that individual’s odds of selection. USCIS determined this practice was manipulating the lottery and issued a final rule, published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2024 (89 FR 6188), to address it. The new beneficiary-centric selection model is the most substantive change to H-1B lottery mechanics since electronic registration was introduced in 2020.

How the New Beneficiary-Centric System Works

Under the revised rules, USCIS now selects unique individuals first, rather than individual registrations. Each beneficiary is entered into the lottery pool once, regardless of how many employers or related entities submitted registrations on their behalf. If a beneficiary is selected, USCIS then randomly determines which of the submitted registrations will be the one used for the actual petition. This means that having five employers register for the same worker no longer multiplies that worker’s chances of being picked.

The practical mechanics work through the myUSCIS online registration portal. Employers must register during a designated window - typically in March - and pay a $215 registration fee per beneficiary for FY2026 and beyond (increased from the original $10 fee set when online registration launched). USCIS uses the passport number and date of birth as the primary identifiers to link registrations to a single individual. If two registrations share the same passport number and date of birth, they are treated as belonging to the same person in the lottery pool.

There is one notable exception: beneficiaries with multiple valid passports from different countries may receive separate entries if the registrations were submitted using different passport numbers. USCIS has indicated it will continue to monitor for abuse in this area, and the agency has the authority under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A) to deny or revoke registrations found to involve fraud or misrepresentation.

What Changed for Employers and Staffing Firms

The impact on staffing agencies and consulting companies is considerable. Previously, some firms that placed workers at third-party client sites would submit multiple H-1B registrations for the same beneficiary through affiliated or shell entities, a practice that USCIS referred to as “lottery manipulation” in its rulemaking documentation. Under the new model, this approach yields no statistical benefit for the beneficiary.

Employers who work with contract workers - particularly in the IT services sector - must now evaluate whether they are the appropriate petitioning employer given updated guidance on the employer-employee relationship. USCIS also used the 2024 final rule to reinforce that H-1B petitioners must demonstrate a bona fide job offer and a legitimate employer-employee relationship at the time of filing, including for third-party placement arrangements. Supporting documentation such as contracts, work orders, and end-client letters remains required.

For cap-exempt employers - including universities, nonprofit research organizations, and government research institutions - none of these lottery changes apply. Workers employed by cap-exempt organizations can file H-1B petitions at any time during the year without participating in the annual registration process. Individuals who hold a current H-1B with a cap-exempt employer and wish to transfer to a cap-subject employer must, however, go through the lottery if they have not already been counted against the cap.

Timing, Fees, and Selection Notifications

The FY2026 registration window opened on March 7, 2025, and closed on March 24, 2025. USCIS conducted the lottery and notified selected registrants through the myUSCIS portal. Employers whose registrations were selected then had a 90-day window to file the full Form I-129 petition, along with supporting documentation and applicable fees.

The filing fees for H-1B petitions also increased substantially under the fee rule that took effect on April 1, 2024. For employers with 26 or more full-time equivalent employees, the base filing fee for Form I-129 is now $780. The ACWIA training fee remains tiered: $750 for employers with 1–25 full-time employees and $1,500 for larger employers. An asylum program fee of $600 applies to most for-profit petitioners. Employers filing for workers in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pay an additional $50 fraud prevention and detection fee. For an H-1B transfer with premium processing, a petitioner could easily pay over $3,000 in combined fees.

Premium processing for H-1B petitions - currently $2,805 for a 15 business-day adjudication guarantee - remains available. USCIS has expanded premium processing eligibility in recent years to include cap-exempt petitions and certain change-of-status requests, though availability can shift based on agency workload and policy updates.

What Applicants Should Do Before the Next Registration Period

Beneficiaries and their sponsoring employers should prepare documentation well in advance of the March registration window. This includes confirming that the passport information to be used for registration is current and matches what will appear on the eventual Form I-129 petition. Any discrepancy between registration data and petition data can trigger a request for evidence or, in some cases, a denial.

Employers should conduct an internal audit to ensure they are not affiliated with other entities that may plan to register the same beneficiary. Under the new rules, USCIS will group registrations by beneficiary, but submitting multiple registrations through nominally independent related entities for the same purpose could still raise fraud concerns and result in all associated registrations being invalidated. The agency has the authority to issue Requests for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny, and referrals to its Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate.

Beneficiaries who were not selected in the initial lottery round should be aware that USCIS may conduct one or more subsequent selection rounds if the cap has not been met after the initial lottery. In FY2024 and FY2025, USCIS did not conduct additional rounds because enough petitions were received from the initial selection pool. However, if petition receipts fall short of the 65,000 regular cap or the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemption cap in a future year, USCIS may open additional registration windows.

Keeping Records and Planning Ahead

Employers and beneficiaries should retain copies of all registration confirmation notices from the myUSCIS portal. These serve as documentation that a valid registration was submitted and can be referenced if questions arise during petition adjudication. USCIS assigns a unique confirmation number to each registration, and this number should be recorded and stored securely.

Anyone whose registration is selected must ensure that the Form I-129 is filed before the 90-day filing window expires. Missing this deadline means the selected registration is no longer valid, and the beneficiary would need to wait until the next lottery cycle. There is no extension available for the filing window tied to a given registration selection.

The next H-1B registration period for fiscal year 2027 - covering employment beginning October 1, 2026 - is expected to open in March 2026. USCIS typically announces the exact dates at least several weeks in advance through its website and official policy announcements.

This article provides general information only. Readers should consult a licensed immigration attorney for advice specific to their circumstances.