by Adam J. Kneeland

With USCIS's confirmation of the registration schedule on February 5, 2025, we have officially entered the FY 2026 H-1B cap season. 

What is cap registration? 

Before working in H-1B status for the first time, most non-immigrant employees must be selected in a random lottery.  An employer can submit a petition for H-1B status on only for selected employees. From 3/7/25 – 3/24/25, employers or their attorneys must use an online account to register each individual candidate with USCIS's online cap lottery selection system.

If you retain our office to help with this process, your role with the online system will be connect your online account to ours and to digitally sign off on the registrations; our office will prepare, submit, and monitor the registrations. Employers are not obligated to go through an attorney to register candidates for the lottery, but candidates cannot register themselves.

After the registration period closes, USCIS will make random selections from the registered names and notify employers/their attorneys. Employers and their attorneys can submit H-1Bs from April 1- June 30. After the registration window closes, no new candidates can be registered until the next year's cap lottery.

If a candidate is selected, then any company that submitted a registration for that beneficiary can submit an H-1B petition on their behalf. Only companies who registered a selected candidate can submit an H-1B petition for them after selection ends; multiple registrations don't increase the chances of selection, just the number of employers who can immediately file an H-1B.  

Overview of this year's important dates: 

March 7, 2025 - USCIS registration system opens for submissions @ noon EST; deadline for sending our office the required info

March 14, 2025 – Deadline for payment to our office for any cap registrations

March 24, 2025  – Registration closes @ noon EST

March 31, 2025 – deadline for USCIS selection announcements  

Summary of cap registration fees

Registration fees

1.      USCIS registration fee: $215 (note the increase from previous years' $10 fee)

2.      Our office's registration prep fee: $350 per candidate (in addition to the USCIS registration fee)

If you plan to register multiple employees and are concerned about the cost, please reach out to discuss. 

Summary of H-1B petition fees (at time of writing)

USCIS fees: 

Office fee: 

Our office fee for filing a petition for a selected candidate will be $2,500. (Any RFEs will be billed at an hourly rate, to be confirmed in a retainer agreement.) 

Contact our office today to get started.