The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun releasing the results of the 2026 H-1B visa lottery.
Applicants can check their status online through the USCIS portal, their employer, or their legal representative. Since notifications are being sent out in phases, some applicants may experience delays in receiving their results.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that enables U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for specialty occupations that require specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. The visa is particularly popular for jobs in fields such as technology, engineering, finance, healthcare, and academia.
This year’s registration period ran from March 7 to March 24, 2025. USCIS implemented several changes to the process, most notably a significant increase in the registration fee, which has risen from $10 to $215 per beneficiary—a 2,050% increase. This non-refundable fee must be paid at the time of registration.
The annual cap for H-1B visas is set at 65,000, with an additional 20,000 slots reserved for applicants holding advanced degrees from U.S. universities. Tech companies continue to be the largest users of the H-1B program, with major firms like Amazon, Cognizant Technology Solutions, and Google leading in approval rates.
