As this season’s H-1B registration period ends on March 19, 2026, the second phase of the process begins. USCIS will conduct a selection process and lottery notifications are expected to be issued by March 31, 2026. Selected employers can submit H-1B petitions from April 1 to June 30, 2026. For those employers selected through the lottery, a window between April 1 and June 30 will determine whether a case is approved, delayed through a request for evidence (RFE), or denied outright.The earliest employment start date for approved applications is October 1. This is the first time that lots will not be drawn randomly but based on salary. For each selected candidate, the company will have to pay a fee of $100,000.
What should applicants do now?
- As scrutiny of the entire H-1B process increases, applicants (i.e., companies looking to hire H-1B workers) must be prepared to meet the challenges of USCIS.
- According to immigration experts, USCIS now wants employers to clearly explain how the position requires specific knowledge and a specific degree.
- Generic job descriptions are not enough. The petition should clearly explain the importance of the role to the company’s operations.
- Applicants must describe in detail the H-1B employee’s daily duties.
- The petition must break down the duties into specific functions, explain how those functions are performed and why they can only be performed by the person studying the particular case.
- The application must indicate that the degree is necessary to perform these duties for this position at the company.
- Immigration expert Steven Brown explains that if a position requires “computer science, engineering or a related field,” USCIS may conclude that the position does not require a specific major. Therefore, degree requirements must be clear and reasonable.
- Descriptions like “analyze data,” “develop solutions,” or “support applications” provide little insight into the complexity of the work. Brown explains that without more detail, these duties may appear routine or administrative, even though the actual role is much more complex.
- The petition must be well prepared. Each submission should take into account how it would be interpreted by a federal court. Job responsibilities must be detailed, consistent, and clearly tied to expertise. Degree requirements must be accurate and supported by logical explanations.
- There should not be any open ambiguity in the petition.
