H-1B petition filings increased in the US, but approvals decreased significantly for the fiscal year ending September 2025. H-1B visa annual report for fiscal year 2025 submitted to Congress, for the first time, shows the number of petitions filed and approved for the full FY 2025 — October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
Numbers at a Glance
Total petitions submitted increased to 456,725 in FY2025, up from 427,091 in FY2024, representing a 7% rise and the largest filing volume since FY2022, when 474,301 petitions were filed. In 2023, the numbers again fell sharply to 386,584. Despite more filings, approvals revealed a totally different story.
Approvals fell to 328,185, the lowest level in five years and a steep 17.8% reduction from FY2024’s 399,402. The first quarter (October-December 2024) was particularly striking: approvals fell by 45% year on year to 47,821, compared to 87,018 in the same time period the previous year.
A big drop in the approvals was seen in the Q1 (Oct–Dec) approvals. Interestingly, on September 19, 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation to significantly reform the foreign work permit H-1B program, introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions effective September 21, 2025.
Between October and December 2025, the approvals were notably low at just 47,821 compared to 87,018 in the same quarter of FY 2024 — a 45% drop quarter-over-quarter year-on-year.
Of the total of 456,725 petitions filed in FY 2025, 410,929 were from employers with 26+ full-time employees, and 45,796 were from employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees, who qualify for a reduced $750 fee instead of $1,500.
The H-1B visa annual report shows that the employer demand increased in FY 2025, but USCIS approvals reached a 5-year low, indicating possible stricter scrutiny or processing delays. A presidential proclamation introducing a $100,000 fee requirement at year-end may substantially impact FY 2026 figures.
LCA Filings Q1 FY 2026
According to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), filing of H-1B work visa applications in the quarter ending December 2025 fell 23.1% compared to the same period last year.
Between October and December 2025 — the first quarter of FY2026 — employers filed 76,164 Labour Condition Applications (LCAs) for temporary specialty occupation workers under the H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa programmes. This marks a significant decline from FY2025 figures.
However, despite a decline in applications, the approval rate remained high. Of the 83,116 applications handled during the quarter, 75,488 were certified, representing a certification percentage of more than 90%.
Meanwhile, the H-1B cap season 2027 registration opens on March 4, and the last date for filing H-1B cap season 2027 registrations ends on March 19, 2026.