Foreign talent looking to live and work in the United States has a strong desire to get hold of a H-1B visa. Now, the time has come for the H-1B visa seekers to chase their American dreams. The 2026 H-1B cap season opens on March 7, 2025, and the random selection of beneficiaries will be over by March 24.

The initial registration period is for a minimum of 14 calendar days each fiscal year. Between March 7 and March 24, 2025, prospective petitioners and representatives have to use a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary. The registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary is $215 for 2026 H-1B cap-season.

H-1B season 2026 has a new process in place for the selection of beneficiaries or the foreign worker who finally ends up with an H-1B visa. But now, the current beneficiary-centric selection process for H-1B registrations aims to reduce gaming, increase selection chances, and ensure equal chances for each beneficiary, regardless of registration submissions.

The new beneficiary-centric selection system has already seen a big dip in registration numbers. There were significantly fewer eligible registrations in FY 2025 (470,342) than in FY 2024 (758,994), a 38.6% decrease. Overall, FY 2025 saw an average of 1.06 registrations per beneficiary, down from FY 2024’s 1.70.

There are four steps in the H-1B visa process for FY 2026 – Firstly, Petitioners or American employers have to register each beneficiary ( foreign worker); Next USCIS selects registrations by unique beneficiaries using the beneficiary-centric process; Next, the selected registrations are notified and lastly, the selected registrations have to file the H-1B cap-subject petitions.

The beneficiary-centric selection procedure that was introduced in FY 2025 will be applicable in the FY 2026 H-1B cap season. Under the beneficiary-centric process, registrations are selected by unique beneficiaries rather than by registration. If USCIS receives registrations for enough unique beneficiaries by March 24, they will randomly select unique beneficiaries and send selection notifications via users’ USCIS online accounts. Only those with selected registrations are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

No matter how many registrations are filed on their behalf, each distinct beneficiary who has a registration filed on their behalf will only be considered once in the selection process.

If USCIS does not receive registrations for enough unique beneficiaries, all registrations for unique beneficiaries that were properly submitted in the initial registration period will be selected. USCIS intends to notify by March 31 prospective petitioners and representatives whose accounts have at least one registration selected.

The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program permits temporary employment of foreign workers in specialty occupations, requiring specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s or higher degree. Between October 2022 and September 2023, 72.3% of all H-1B visas issued were grabbed by Indian skilled workers. India accounts for 28% of international student jobs in the US.

In each fiscal year from October 1 to September 31, Congress mandates that 65,000 H-1B visas be issued under the standard quota and 20,000 H-1B visas under the master’s cap.

The H-1B final rule implemented from January 17, 2025 aims to streamline the approval process and allow employers to retain talented workers. The new rule also extends certain flexibilities for students on an F-1 visa seeking to change their status to H-1B to avoid disruptions in lawful status and employment authorization for those F-1 students.

Incidentally, President Trump has also announced the launch of a Gold Card aimed at companies to hire and retain foreign talented students after they complete their course from top US colleges.

Intead and job search engine F1 Hire conducted a survey titled ‘Connecting Dots: How International Students Are Finding US Jobs,’ Washington, North Carolina, Texas, and Michigan received the most H-1B applications per firm sponsor.

In 2023, 39% of sponsored H-1B petitions for international students came from firms in three states: California, Texas, and New York. Including Massachusetts, Virginia, and Michigan, total H-1B petitions accounted for half of all sponsored posts in 2023.

Trump’s presidency is expected to impact international students, particularly those seeking higher studies in America. The Optional Practical Training (OPT), a program that allows overseas students to apply for temporary work permission post-graduation, may be subject to new restrictions, with the possibility of revival in Trump’s second term.

The Trump administration is also likely to tighten the issue of visas in several categories, including work visas such as H-1B, family green cards, and other eligible family ‘preference’ programs.