USCIS Processing Time Update July 2026: FY 2027 H-1B Cap Officially Reached

On July 17, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced that it has received sufficient petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2027. Both the standard 65,000 regular cap and the additional 20,000 advanced degree (master's cap) exemption allocations have been filled, closing out the FY 2027 H-1B cap season. The FY 2027 filing window ran from April 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026. As in FY 2026, USCIS will not be conducting any additional rounds of H-1B cap registration selections, meaning no further lottery opportunities remain for this fiscal year. USCIS has not released the FY 2027 cap selection rate data at this time. A notable development this cycle is that the FY 2027 H-1B lottery was the first conducted under a new weighted selection process. Under this system, beneficiaries receive additional lottery entries based on their offered salary relative to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage levels, favoring higher-wage petitions. A revised Form I-129 with additional employment disclosure requirements was also introduced alongside the weighted selection rule. For employment-based green card applicants — including those on the EB-3 track — this cap announcement has indirect implications. Many EB-3 applicants transition from or hold concurrent H-1B status, and the closure of the H-1B cap without additional rounds means employers must plan carefully for any new foreign national hires. Cap-exempt petitions, such as extensions, amendments, and changes of employer, will continue to be accepted and processed without interruption.