FY 2026 H-1B Lottery Results Announced: See if You Were Selected

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Key Takeaways

USCIS finalized the FY 2026 H-1B lottery on March 28, 2025; employers were notified via USCIS online accounts.
Selected applicants’ employers must file H-1B petitions between April 1 and June 30, 2025, meeting specified documentation requirements.
Non-selected registrations may qualify for future lotteries; alternative visas or FY 2027 reapplication are additional options.

As of March 28, 2025, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finalized the selection process for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 H-1B visa lottery. Employers and legal representatives have been informed of these results through their USCIS online accounts. For those aspiring to secure H-1B visas to work in the United States, this announcement is a pivotal moment. If your registration for the FY 2026 H-1B lottery was submitted, now is the time to check your status and decode its significance.

In this article, we will explain how to check your lottery results, what each status indicator means, and how selected applicants can proceed. We’ll also examine the broader importance of the H-1B program and discuss recent changes designed to make the lottery process fairer and more effective.

FY 2026 H-1B Lottery Results Announced: See if You Were Selected

How to Check Your H-1B Lottery Status

Once USCIS processes the H-1B lottery registrations, it communicates the results to employers or their legal representatives. As an applicant, here’s what you need to know about checking your status:

Employer Notifications

USCIS sends lottery updates directly to the accounts of employers or their attorneys. Applicants (referred to as beneficiaries) won’t have direct access to their statuses. To know your status, you must contact your sponsoring employer or their legal representative. If you haven’t received any updates, your employer is your main point of contact.

USCIS Online Portal for Employers

For employers and attorneys managing the lottery registrations, USCIS displays results through its online portal. There are four possible registration statuses you may hear about:

Submitted: This status shows that your application has been received by USCIS and remains under consideration. However, it does not guarantee selection in the lottery.
Selected: If your registration status says “Selected,” it means your entry was picked in the lottery. Your employer can now file an H-1B petition on your behalf.
Not Selected: If you see “Not Selected,” your registration was not chosen in the initial lottery. However, there’s still hope—your application might be reconsidered later if USCIS conducts additional lotteries to meet the annual H-1B cap.
Denied: This status appears if your application was found to be invalid. This often happens in cases of duplicate registrations submitted by the same employer for the same beneficiary.

Understanding these statuses is crucial for knowing where you stand and what actions to take next.

Broad Insights from the FY 2026 Lottery Process

Although specific numbers haven’t been shared yet for FY 2026, the overwhelming demand for H-1B visas remains a consistent trend. As an example, during FY 2025, over 470,000 H-1B registrations were submitted for just 85,000 available slots, including 20,000 reserved for applicants with advanced U.S. degrees. The high participation rate demonstrates the continuing importance of U.S. opportunities for skilled global professionals, but it also underscores the competitive nature of this process.

Heavy Demand and Selection Challenges

The outcome of the H-1B lottery can be life-altering for applicants. Those whose registrations aren’t chosen in the initial draw still have the potential for selection through supplementary lotteries. This happens when USCIS discovers that fewer visas are being issued than the annual limit allows.

For those selected in the lottery, the path moves forward quickly. Let’s discuss the next steps in detail.

Next Steps for Selected Applicants

If your H-1B registration is selected, your employer can submit an H-1B visa petition to USCIS starting April 1, 2025. Employers have 90 days to prepare and file the necessary documents and fees. A successful petition needs to demonstrate:

That the job qualifies as a “specialty occupation” (roles that require advanced knowledge and specific academic qualifications).
That the beneficiary (applicant) has the required educational and professional credentials to fulfill the job role.
All required fees and additional paperwork are properly submitted.

Once the petition is approved, applicants can begin their employment in the United States starting October 1, 2025, or later. Proper paperwork and timely filing are essential to ensure there are no delays or denial risks.

For Registrations Not Selected

If your registration wasn’t selected, there are other options to pursue. As the fiscal year progresses, USCIS may hold additional lotteries to fill any remaining cap slots. Alternatively, individuals can look into different visa categories, such as O-1 Extraordinary Ability visas, which may suit their profiles better. Another possibility is to reapply in the following year’s H-1B lottery for FY 2027.

The Bigger Picture: The Importance of the H-1B Program

The H-1B visa is a critical tool for attracting talented professionals worldwide, especially in industries where advanced technical skills are in high demand. Its purpose is to fill specialized positions in fields like technology, engineering, medicine, and scientific research that may lack enough skilled workers in the domestic labor market.

But while the H-1B program creates great opportunities, the lottery system necessary to allocate visas also creates unpredictable outcomes.

Balancing Demand with Opportunity

Each fiscal year, the U.S. awards a total of 85,000 new H-1B visas:
– 65,000 are for the general or “regular” cap.
– 20,000 are for applicants with U.S.-earned advanced degrees, such as master’s or doctorate degrees.

Because the demand often exceeds these limits by hundreds of thousands of applications, the lottery system has become an unavoidable mechanism for managing this imbalance. While the lottery is fair in its randomness, it doesn’t prioritize the most qualified candidates, leading to uncertainties for applicants and the companies depending on them.

Consequences for Applicants and Employers

For Applicants: Many see the H-1B visa as the gateway to realizing professional and personal goals in the United States. However, when the luck of the draw is a deciding factor, even top-qualified candidates face uncertainty.

For Employers: Hiring foreign talent can be essential for industries like tech or biotechnology. When employers can’t secure visas for the workers they need, their projects might face delays, or they may miss out on critical skills altogether.

Challenges and Policy Solutions

The H-1B lottery’s unpredictability has triggered discussions about improving U.S. immigration policies to address the growing demand. Reforms are continually being proposed to streamline aspects of the system to ensure fairness while addressing the labor needs of the economy.

USCIS Reforms Aimed at Improving the System

USCIS has implemented several changes to improve the lottery process and prevent abuses. These reforms aim to give all applicants a fair shot while protecting program integrity. Key updates include:

Eliminating Duplicate Registrations: In FY 2025, new rules prohibited employers from submitting multiple entries for the same person. This measure combats inflated registration numbers and fosters a fairer competition.
Defining Specialty Occupations More Clearly: Revised guidelines ensure that an H-1B job genuinely requires specialized expertise and aligns with the applicant’s qualifications.
Higher Filing Fees for Transparency: Increased costs, paired with stricter documentation requirements, have made it harder for frivolous or fraudulent petitions to move forward.

These changes highlight USCIS’s intent to manage the program responsibly while tackling its limitations.

Wrapping Up: Moving Forward with Clarity and Purpose

The release of the FY 2026 H-1B lottery results marks a major milestone for applicants and employers alike. For those selected, the focus turns to timely petition filing and adherence to all requirements. Meanwhile, those who were not selected should explore backup plans, consider future registrations, or evaluate alternative visa routes where applicable.

The H-1B program remains a pillar of the U.S. immigration system, contributing to the country’s economic growth, innovation, and technological leadership. Yet the lottery system brings with it substantial challenges for individuals and businesses who rely on its outcomes. Recent reforms by USCIS, particularly in data accuracy and fairness, seek to address these issues, though further conversations on long-term improvements continue.

As you navigate this process, staying informed is crucial. Visa-related announcements or updates can significantly impact your strategy. Always rely on trusted sources like USCIS’s H-1B cap page or VisaVerge.com for guidance tailored to your immigration journey.

Learn Today

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) → U.S. government agency managing immigration processes, visas, and petitions, including the H-1B program and lottery selection.
Fiscal Year (FY) → A 12-month financial and accounting period used by organizations. For the U.S. government, it begins October 1.
H-1B Visa → A non-immigrant work visa allowing U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations requiring advanced skills.
Specialty Occupation → A job requiring theoretical knowledge and expertise in fields like IT, medicine, or engineering, often needing a degree.
Lottery System → A randomized selection process used to allocate limited H-1B visas from a pool of eligible applications.

This Article in a Nutshell

The Fiscal Year 2026 H-1B visa lottery results are out! Employers can now check USCIS online accounts for status updates. Selected applicants should prepare petitions by April 1, 2025, for October employment. Not selected? Consider alternative visas or future lotteries. Despite challenges, the H-1B program drives global talent and innovation.
— By VisaVerge.com