U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed late on March 31 that it has finished selecting registrations for the FY 2027 H-1B cap, meeting the statutory quota of 85,000 visas. Employers can begin filing full H-1B petitions for selected beneficiaries starting today, April 1, and must use the new 02/27/26 edition of Form I-129. This is the first cap season to use a wage-weighted lottery that favors higher prevailing-wage levels, meaning companies that pay Level-3 or Level-4 wages saw better selection odds. Immigration counsel report that selection notices instruct employers to attach documentation showing how the wage level was determined, adding a layer of evidentiary burden to the filing package. Employers should prioritize filings for F-1 OPT holders whose work authorization will expire before June 30 to preserve cap-gap benefits. They should also budget for the new $100,000 consular-notification fee if a change-of-status request cannot be granted—an expense that could influence staffing models for off-shore service providers. With only 90 days to file and a new online-filing portal not yet stress-tested, large petition volumes may strain HR-legal coordination. Best practice is to pre-populate forms, order LCA certifications in advance, and reserve courier slots for hard-copy submissions as a fallback. Employers that miss the window risk losing talent to Canada or the U.K., both of which have streamlined tech-visa routes.
Source: Fragomen
