U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on 1 February that the electronic registration window for the FY-2027 H-1B cap will run from noon ET 4 March to noon ET 19 March 2026. Employers must pay the standard US $215 registration fee per beneficiary, but a new presidential proclamation empowers DHS to impose an additional US $100,000 fee on “select employers” with large volumes of selected registrations. Detailed eligibility criteria for the surcharge will be released before the petition-filing stage.(m.economictimes.com)
The agency confirmed that its long-anticipated weighted-selection methodology will debut this season. If registrations exceed the statutory quota, USCIS will weight entries based on the proffered wage level and occupation, a change designed to discourage low-salary “lottery farming” and favour highly-compensated STEM talent. Employers that fall below the annual cap will continue to be selected automatically.(m.economictimes.com)
![USCIS Sets March 4 Opening for FY-2027 H-1B Registration, Introduces Weighted Lottery and $100K Fee]()
Companies navigating these changes don’t have to go it alone. VisaHQ’s U.S. immigration team offers end-to-end assistance—from registration strategy and document compilation to exploring back-up visa options—through an easy online dashboard. To learn more, visit https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
From a corporate-mobility perspective, the compressed 15-day filing window and possible six-figure surcharge demand early budgeting and stakeholder alignment. Global employers should audit intended beneficiaries now, set wage levels that remain competitive under the weighted system, and prepare contingency plans—such as L-1, O-1 or near-shore assignments—for cases not selected. Law firms also warn that the government could increase Requests for Evidence to police fraudulent multiple registrations under the new rules.(visaverge.com)
Finally, HRIS and vendor systems must be updated to capture the new data fields that USCIS will require in organisational accounts, including corporate-structure attestations aimed at identifying related-entity filings. Failing to adapt processes in time could result in rejected registrations and lost work-start dates for critical foreign talent.
The agency confirmed that its long-anticipated weighted-selection methodology will debut this season. If registrations exceed the statutory quota, USCIS will weight entries based on the proffered wage level and occupation, a change designed to discourage low-salary “lottery farming” and favour highly-compensated STEM talent. Employers that fall below the annual cap will continue to be selected automatically.(m.economictimes.com)
Companies navigating these changes don’t have to go it alone. VisaHQ’s U.S. immigration team offers end-to-end assistance—from registration strategy and document compilation to exploring back-up visa options—through an easy online dashboard. To learn more, visit https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
From a corporate-mobility perspective, the compressed 15-day filing window and possible six-figure surcharge demand early budgeting and stakeholder alignment. Global employers should audit intended beneficiaries now, set wage levels that remain competitive under the weighted system, and prepare contingency plans—such as L-1, O-1 or near-shore assignments—for cases not selected. Law firms also warn that the government could increase Requests for Evidence to police fraudulent multiple registrations under the new rules.(visaverge.com)
Finally, HRIS and vendor systems must be updated to capture the new data fields that USCIS will require in organisational accounts, including corporate-structure attestations aimed at identifying related-entity filings. Failing to adapt processes in time could result in rejected registrations and lost work-start dates for critical foreign talent.
