How H-1B selection works in FY2027
Each fiscal year Congress caps new H-1B visas at 85,000: 65,000 under the regular cap plus 20,000 reserved for holders of a US master's degree or higher. Demand still exceeds supply — the last published season, FY2026, drew 343,981 eligible registrations for 85,000 places — so USCIS runs a selection (the "lottery") on registrations submitted during a two-week window in early March. The FY2027 window ran March 4–19, 2026, with a $215 registration fee per beneficiary.
The big change: wage-weighted selection
For decades the draw was purely random. Starting with FY2027, a final rule (effective February 27, 2026) introduced a wage-weighted process: each registration is entered into the selection pool with a number of entries set by its OEWS wage level — four entries at Level IV, three at Level III, two at Level II, and one at Level I. Higher-wage roles therefore carry up to four times the entries of entry-level filings. The statutory caps and the beneficiary-centric structure (you can be selected at most once, no matter how many employers register you) are unchanged.
Why a US master's degree matters
Since the FY2021 cap, USCIS first selects enough beneficiaries for the 65,000 regular cap from the whole pool, US advanced-degree holders included, and then selects from the remaining advanced-degree holders to fill the 20,000 exemption. The FY2027 final rule keeps that two-stage order, so a US master's degree still means a second draw (90 FR 60947, citing 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(5)–(6)). FY2026 basis: on USCIS’s own published table, 120,141 registrations were selected out of 343,981 eligible registrations — 120,141 ÷ 343,981 ≈ 34.9% (USCIS — H-1B Electronic Registration Process). That is a single average for the FY2026 cap only. From the FY2027 cap each beneficiary is entered in the draw once per wage-level step, so the odds depend on the wage level on the registration (Federal Register — Weighted Selection Process for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions, final rule 2025-23853). The wage-level odds report sets out the same figures in one table.
What the FY2027 numbers showed
We publish no FY2027 registration count or selection breakdown: the USCIS cap-season and registration pages linked below carry the FY2021–26 series and the $215 registration fee, but no FY2027 statistics, so those lines read “Confirm with the official source (not verified)” until USCIS publishes them. What is settled is the structure: the 85,000 cap and a random draw in which each beneficiary is entered four times at Level IV, three at Level III, two at Level II and once at Level I. A beneficiary registered by several employers is placed at the lowest wage level among those registrations. USCIS announced there will be no second selection for FY2027, and the next registration window (FY2028) is expected in March 2027. USCIS has not published per-wage-band selection rates, so the per-band figures on this page are DHS's own estimates from the final rule, not results.
These are estimates, not a guarantee
The odds shown are DHS’s estimates in the final rule (Table 13, 90 FR 60947–48): 15.29% at Level I, 30.58% at Level II, 45.87% at Level III and 61.16% at Level IV, against 29.59% for every beneficiary under the old random draw on the same data. That is −48% for Level I and +3%, +55% and +107% for Levels II to IV. DHS modelled one pooled draw for the regular cap and the master’s exemption together and assumed employers keep their current wages, so the master’s second draw is not in these figures: holders of a US master’s degree should expect somewhat better than the figure for their level, and everyone else somewhat worse. USCIS has not published FY2027 selection rates by wage level. Treat the figures as planning guidance, and confirm specifics with a qualified immigration attorney.
What happened to the $100,000 H-1B fee?
A Presidential Proclamation imposed a $100,000 supplemental fee on certain new H-1B petitions effective September 21, 2025 — by its terms aimed at beneficiaries processing abroad (consular processing), not those changing status inside the US. On June 8, 2026, a federal district court vacated the fee as unlawful, and on July 24, 2026 the First Circuit declined to stay that ruling — so after that ruling the fee was not being applied. The government's appeal continues and the status could change again; confirm the current position with counsel before budgeting for any fee. Proclamation 10973 ran for 12 months from that date. On September 18, 2026, Proclamation 11069 extended the restriction for another 12 months, to 12:00 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2027 (published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2026). Court rulings on the extension are not tracked on this page; confirm the current position on USCIS's H-1B pages or with counsel before budgeting for the fee.
If I'm not selected, what are my real options?
Common alternatives, depending on your background:
- O-1A — extraordinary ability in sciences, business, education or athletics. No lottery, no annual cap.
- L-1 — intracompany transfer if you've worked abroad for a related employer for one year.
- TN — for Canadian and Mexican citizens in qualifying professions under USMCA.
- EB-1A / EB-2 NIW — green card paths that skip the H-1B entirely for high-achievers and those whose work serves the national interest.
- Cap-exempt H-1B — universities and qualifying nonprofits aren't subject to the cap.
Sources and official references:
USCIS — H-1B Cap Season;
USCIS — H-1B Electronic Registration Process;
Federal Register — Weighted Selection Process for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions (final rule, 29 December 2025);
Federal Register — same rule as proposed (24 September 2025, wage-level weighting rationale);
Federal Register — Improving Wage Protections (proposed rule, 27 March 2026);
Proclamation 11069 — Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (signed 18 September 2026, extends Proclamation 10973 to 21 September 2027);
8 U.S.C. §1184 (annual cap authority).
On 22 September 2026 we removed the FY2027 figures this page carried (211,600 eligible registrations, down 38.5%, US advanced-degree beneficiaries at 71.5% of selections and Level I at 17.7% of registrations): both USCIS pages opened that day through the Wayback Machine and carry the FY2021–26 registration and selection table and the $215 fee, but no FY2027 statistics. The FY2026 figures used above (343,981 eligible, 120,141 selected) come from that table.
Per-wage-band selection rates are not published by USCIS; the band figures here are estimates modelled on the 4/3/2/1 selection structure. Independent self-assessment, not legal advice.
API check (2026-09-03, datacenter IP, no login): the three Federal Register links above are the site's public full-text endpoints (the URLs its API returns as raw_text_url) and returned HTTP 200 with 249,708 / 638,516 / 324,138 characters. Between them they carry the $100,000 H-1B fee and the 25% figure, but not the FY2027 registration statistics. The two USCIS pages returned HTTP 403 direct with no reachable archive snapshot on that date, so those statistics have no fetchable official source at present and are re-checked on each audit run.
Last reviewed: August 18, 2026 · sources probe-verified against the Federal Register weighted-selection rule.