U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it has reached the annual H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2025. This statutory cap includes 65,000 regular cap visas and 20,000 visas under the U.S. advanced degree exemption, also known as the master’s cap. The announcement concludes the FY 2025 H-1B cap season, following a series of changes to the lottery system earlier this year.
Changes to the H-1B Lottery System
This year, USCIS implemented a new lottery system that gave each individual applicant an equal chance of selection, regardless of how many employers sponsored them. In past years, applicants could increase their odds by having multiple employers submit registrations on their behalf.
The revised system resulted in fewer overall registrations. For FY 2025, USCIS received 470,342 eligible registrations, a sharp decline from the record 758,994 registrations in FY 2024. Additionally, the average number of registrations per applicant dropped from 1.7 in FY 2024 to 1.06 in FY 2025.
Multiple Lotteries
USCIS conducted two random lottery selections to meet the FY 2025 quota:
- The first selection, held in March, selected approximately 26% of applicants (114,017 individuals).
- A second selection in August added 13,607 individuals, bringing the total percentage of applicants selected to about 29%.”.
With the cap now reached, no additional lotteries will be conducted for this fiscal year.
What Happens Next?
Petitioners whose registrations were not selected will see a “Not Selected” status in their online accounts. USCIS will also send non-selection notices to applicants and their attorneys.
Important:
Unselected registrations do not carry over to the next fiscal year. Employers must re-register these individuals for the FY 2026 cap season, which will open in Spring 2025.
Cap-Exempt Petitions Still Accepted
While the cap is reached, USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions exempt from the annual limit. These include:
- H-1B petitions for workers employed by higher education institutions or nonprofit organizations affiliated with universities.
- Petitions to extend the stay of current H-1B workers.
- Petitions to change the terms of employment, employers, or add concurrent employment for existing H-1B workers.
Preparing for FY 2026
Given the competitive nature of the H-1B program, early preparation is critical for the next cap season. Employers should start gathering the necessary documentation and strategizing for the Spring 2025 registration period.
You can check the USCIS H-1B Cap Season page for updates to the program.