The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has officially announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will commence at noon Eastern on March 7, 2025, and conclude at noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. Prospective petitioners and representatives must utilize the USCIS online account system to electronically register each beneficiary and pay the updated $215 registration fee per beneficiary.

Key Registration Requirements and Changes for FY 2026

1. Mandatory USCIS Online Account: Employers who intend to petition for H-1B visas must create an organizational USCIS online account if they do not already have one. Employers who previously held an H-1B registrant account but did not use it for FY 2025 will see their accounts converted to organizational accounts upon their next login.

2. Beneficiary-Centric Selection Process: As implemented in FY 2025, USCIS will select H-1B registrations based on unique beneficiaries rather than multiple registrations per beneficiary. This aims to enhance fairness and minimize system manipulation.

3. Increased Credit Card Transaction Limits: The U.S. Department of Treasury has temporarily raised the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $99,999.99 for the FY 2026 cap season. Payments exceeding this threshold must be made via Automated Clearing House (ACH), with banks requiring prior notification to avoid transaction blocks.

4. Registration Timeline & Selection Notifications: Registrants must submit their applications within the designated period, but there is no advantage to registering on the first day. Selection notifications will be sent via USCIS online accounts by March 31, 2025.

5. Eligibility for Petition Filing: An H-1B petition can only be filed by a petitioner whose registration was selected in the H-1B registration process, including those qualifying for the advanced degree exemption.

Enhancements to Organizational and Representative Accounts

For FY 2026, USCIS has introduced several enhancements to streamline the registration process, including:

• Expanded Paralegal Access: Paralegals can now assist multiple legal representatives, improving workflow efficiency for law firms handling high-volume cases.

• Simplified Legal Representative Management: Legal representatives can more easily add paralegals to company client accounts.

• Pre-Population of Form I-129 Fields: Certain fields from selected H-1B registrations will be automatically filled in the Form I-129 petition, reducing administrative burden.

• Bulk Data Upload Capabilities: Employers can now prepare a spreadsheet of H-1B beneficiary data and upload it to pre-populate multiple registrations simultaneously.

Saluja Law's Insights

The shift toward a beneficiary-centric selection process continues USCIS's efforts to enhance transparency and fairness in the H-1B lottery system. These enhancements, particularly for legal representatives and large-scale employers, signal a broader push for efficiency and integrity in H-1B processing. Employers and legal representatives should take full advantage of the new tools available to streamline their registration and petition submission processes.

At Saluja Law, we are closely monitoring these developments and advising our clients on best practices for a successful H-1B cap season. If you have any questions about the registration process or need assistance with compliance strategies, contact us today.