By:  Richard Hanus, Esq.

February 12, 2026

We are living in a world of nonstop immigration news.  Whether we are hearing about the latest heavy handed, even lethal, ICE operations or immigration bans based on country of origin, it’s almost impossible to keep up and understand the implications of these big events.   In the H-1B visa arena alone, the amount of news is overwhelming, especially in trying to understand if and when the newly proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee applies.   Despite all the obstacles and bad news dominating the airwaves and social media, 85,000 professional foreign national workers and their employers will have a chance at an H-1B visa by registering in the coming fiscal year’s H-1B lottery starting in March.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (“US CIS”) recently released details and the timetable for the 2027 fiscal year H-1B visa lottery registration, with interested employers and workers getting an opportunity to register beginning NOON EST March 4, 2026, and ending NOON EST March 19, 2026.  That means interested registrants should take immediate measures to open or update their online accounts and gather documentation and information required to facilitate registration and have a chance at these in-demand visas.

With the exception of “cap exempt” filings, federal law allots 85,000 H-1B visas annually, and each year, demand for H-1B visas significantly outnumbers the supply.   The good news is that the process by which interested employers can register is relatively user friendly, with H-1B petitioning employers submitting organization and worker information in their online US CIS account.  Like last year, H-1B visa lottery registrants will have to pay a fee of $215.00 for each registration submitted.

According to US CIS, registrants who are selected for a chance to file an H-1B visa petition will receive notification no later than March 31, 2026.  Selected petitioners will be able to submit their filings starting October 1, 2026 – the first day of 2027 fiscal year – with eligibility for an initial period of approval of up to 3 years, and extendable for another 3 years. Further extensions beyond 6 years are possible but depend on timing and progress of employer efforts at facilitating permanent resident status (Green Card) on behalf of the subject worker.

New features and restrictions:   This year’s lottery registration process will favor entries for higher paying job offers over those paying less.   That means the higher the salary being offered the greater the chance a particular registration has of being selected.   Additionally, the current state of the law is such that the only avenue of avoiding the new $100,000 fee, with few exceptions, is if the filing is for a worker already in the U.S. in a nonimmigrant status, such as F-1/student, and where the parties are seeking to facilitate a change of status in the U.S.   On the other hand, new H-1B petitions on behalf of a prospective worker who is now overseas will almost assuredly involve the payment of a $100,000 fee, although that fee is the subject of ongoing, hotly contested federal litigation.

A small silver lining:  The scary obstacles as outlined above translate into interested parties having a better chance at an H-1B visa.  To avoid having to pay the prohibitive $100,000 fee, petitioning employers will focus their registration efforts on a smaller pool of workers i.e. those already in the U.S. on F-1 student visas.  That way employers avoid wasting a visa lottery entry for an overseas worker that brings the hefty $100,000 price tag into play.

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