H-1B visa demand for 2025-26 remains high despite drop in registrations

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received over 343,000 eligible H-1B visa registrations for FY 2026, against a cap of 85,000 visas. Although this marks a decline from the previous year’s 758,000 registrations, demand for the visa continues to surpass the available quota, according to a report by Lubna Kably in The Times of India.

This year, USCIS introduced a beneficiary-based selection system. Under this process, each applicant is entered into the lottery only once, even if multiple employers submit registrations for the same person. As per Lubna’s report, the goal is to enhance fairness and curb abuse. As a result, the number of individuals with multiple registrations dropped significantly, from 408,891 last year to just 7,828 this year.

The registration period was open from March 6 to March 22, 2025. USCIS has completed the selection process and notified the selected applicants. Only these individuals can now proceed with filing H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2026.

The H-1B program remains a key pathway for US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations such as technology, engineering, and medicine. Despite the lower registration numbers, the program continues to draw strong interest from Indian professionals, who form the largest applicant group.

(With inputs from TOI)