H-1B visa registration for 2026 opens March 7 with major fee hike: Key details

Dubai: The H-1B visa registration for fiscal year 2026 will open on March 7 and close on March 24, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The H-1B visa is crucial for IT professionals and tech companies that hire thousands annually. This non-immigrant visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require expertise in fields like technology, engineering, and sciences.

Registration information

During the registration period, petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically and pay a $215 registration fee.

The FY 2026 H-1B cap will continue the beneficiary-centric selection process introduced in FY 2025. This means registrations will be selected based on unique beneficiaries, not individual registrations. If USCIS receives enough unique registrations by the March 24 deadline, a random selection will take place. Notifications will be sent via USCIS online accounts by March 31.

Key changes for representatives and registrants

Representatives can add clients to their accounts at any time, but the submission of beneficiary information and payment can only be done after March 7. There is no advantage to registering early, as selection occurs after the registration period ends.

Registration process and account rules

Employers and representatives must register using a USCIS online account. If they previously had H-1B registrant accounts for FY 2021–FY 2024 but did not participate in FY 2025, their accounts will automatically be converted to organizational accounts on their next login. First-time registrants can create an account anytime. The Organizational Accounts FAQ page will be updated with FY 2026 information and step-by-step guides before the registration period opens.

Credit card limit increase for FY 2026

To manage the high volume of registrations, the US Department of Treasury has temporarily raised the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $99,999.99 for the FY 2026 H-1B cap season. Transactions exceeding this limit can be processed through Automated Clearing House (ACH). Employers using ACH should check with their banks to ensure no ACH blocks on their accounts.

Enhancements for organisational accounts

For FY 2026, several improvements have been made to organizational and representative accounts for H-1B filing, including:

• Paralegals can now work with multiple legal representatives and prepare H-1B registrations, Form I-129 petitions, and premium processing requests for different attorneys within a single paralegal account.

• An easier way for legal representatives to add paralegals to company clients.

• Pre-population of certain Form I-129 fields from selected H-1B registrations.

• The ability to prepare and upload a spreadsheet of H-1B beneficiary data to pre-populate information in registrations.

These enhancements will be available before the registration period begins.