Electronic H-1B registration and lottery

Since 2020 or fiscal year FY 2021, US companies filing initial H-1B applications that fall under the annual numerical limitation (= H-1B cap) must first register via the USCIS online portal in order to be eligible to apply for an H-1B visa.

There are 65,000 H-1B visas available each US fiscal year in the regular cap and an additional 20,000 visas in the master's cap for people with a US master's degree.

The demand for the H-1B category has exceeded the supply of available H-1B visas for many years, which is why the USCIS introduced the H-1B online filing process by registration and lottery.

On the one hand, H-1B pre-registration is not as time-consuming and, despite the increase in fees, less expensive than the "actual" H-1B application. This is a great advantage for US employers who are left empty-handed during H-1B pre-registration: Those who were not selected are spared the processing effort of compiling the H-1B file - compared to the previous selection process a few years ago.

While until FY 2024, the lottery was drawn by company, beneficiaries have been drawn since FY 2025 (= beneficiary-centric selection process). This is intended to prevent possible abuse and give every foreign person the same opportunities. Since then, the selection pool has been made up of beneficiaries and no longer companies or individual registrations. If there are several registrations for a beneficiary (e.g. several job offers), the person concerned still only takes part in the selection process once.

From the coming FY 2027, this beneficiary-centered process will be supplemented by a wage-based weighted selection process. Selection will continue to take place at beneficiary level, but the probability of selection will also depend on the wage level offered (OEWS Wage Level) for the respective registration. Depending on the specified wage level, a beneficiary is included in the selection pool several times:

• Wage Level I:                1 lots
• Wage Level II:               2 lots
• Wage Level III:              3 lots
• Wage Level IV:               4 lots

The higher the salary level offered in relation to the usual salary for the location and position, the higher the statistical probability of selection. However, selection is still not guaranteed.

Important: If there are several H-1B registrations for a foreign person (e.g. several job offers from different US companies), the weighting is based exclusively on the highest correctly stated wage level. Lots from multiple registrations are not added together

The wage level is determined on the basis of the specifications of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and is based on the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) system. In particular, the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code, the place of work and the level of requirements and responsibility of the position are decisive. Based on these criteria, the position is assigned to one of four wage levels (Wage Level I-IV), ranging from entry-level to highly qualified and particularly responsible positions. The employer must state the determined wage level as part of the H-1B registration and confirm it later in the LCA and petition process. The information must be plausible, consistent and appropriate to the position, as deviations can lead to rejections or withdrawals of the application.

H-1B Registration period

The registration period is at least 14 calendar days per US fiscal year. Last year, the official fee-based registration for the H-1B lottery for fiscal year (FY) 2026 took place from March 7, 2025, at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) / 6 p.m. Central European Time (CET) through March 24, 2025, at 12 noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) / 5 p.m. Central European Time (CET).

The specific registration period for FY 2027 has not yet been determined, but is expected to be from the beginning of March 2026 until the end of March 2026.

The specific registration period for FY 2027 has not yet been determined, but is expected to be from the beginning of March to the end of March 2026.
Only companies that set up a USCIS online account during the above-mentioned period, or that have already set up an account or registered (if they already have an account), can obtain H-1B visas for employees for the coming FY 2027.

When does an H-1B lottery take place?

At the end of the registration period, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) checks how many valid online applications have been received.

If the number of registrations exceeds the annual H-1B quota (H-1B Cap), USCIS will conduct a weighted selection process.

The selection will no longer be purely random, but from FY 2027 (March 2026) onwards, it will take into account the specified wage level (OEWS Wage Level) of the respective registration. Depending on the specified wage level, individuals will be included in the selection pool one to four times (Wage Level I = 1 ticket, Level II = 2 tickets, Level III = 3 tickets, Level IV = 4 tickets), which increases the statistical probability of selection accordingly. From this selection pool, registrations are then selected for which H-1B petitions can be submitted from April 1 within a 90-day window.

To decide how many petitions to select, USCIS relies on data from previous years (e.g., expected rate of H-1B petitions filed by selected petitioners or beneficiaries). If the number of participants is less than the number of H-1B visas available each year, all valid H-1B registrations will be selected.

If the H-1B cap is not reached despite sufficient registrations being drawn, a new subsequent selection procedure may be carried out.