Annual H-1B Registration Window Opens In March 2026 With New Selection Process

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recently announced that it will accept new H-1B registrations from noon EST on March 4, 2026, through noon EST on March 19, 2026. Most employers seeking to employ foreign nationals who have never been in H-1B status must register during this period. Since 2020, USCIS has used an electronic registration system to allocate slots under the annual H-1B limit (H-1B cap). The March period will be the only time this year that USCIS will accept registrations. Through the government's electronic system, the attorney invites the employer to collaborate on the registration. Together, they prepare, sign, and submit the registration through the online system. The current fee for each registration is $215.

There are two H-1B registration pools: a general pool and a pool for those registrations naming a foreign national who holds an advanced degree from an American college or university. USCIS will place all registrations into the general pool. USCIS will place those registrations involving advanced degrees into an additional pool, increasing the chance of selection. USCIS expects to announce selections by March 31, 2026. Employers selected in the first round will have until June 30, 2026, to prepare and file their H-1B cases. Depending upon various factors, USCIS may make a second round of selections from the existing registrations. If there is a second round, it likely will occur in the mid to late summer.

New Information Required for Registration and New Selection Process

In addition to information about the employer and foreign national, USCIS now will require the employer to state the following under penalty of perjury on the registration:

• Wage level under the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL's) wage survey, using the wage that the employer intends to offer
• Standard Occupation Code (SOC) for the job that the employer will offer
• Area of intended employment where the employer will assign the foreign national
• The job offer is bona fide (i.e., the employer truly has a position to fill at the time of registration)

USCIS will require this additional information because, under a new federal rule, the wage level will determine whether the employer's registration will be entered into one or both pools multiple times.

The DOL states its wage data in four levels, with Level 1 being the entry level and Level 4 being the highest level. For an employer that offers a salary that meets or exceeds Level 4, USCIS will enter that registration into the general pool four times. If the employer's registration names a foreign national who holds an American advanced degree, USCIS will enter the same registration into the advanced pool four times. Therefore, USCIS will enter such a registration a total of eight times. In the same example, if an employer offers a wage that meets or exceeds Level 2, USCIS will enter the registration in the general pool two times and in the advanced degree pool two times for a total of four entries. If the employer will assign the foreign national to multiple worksites, USCIS will consider the location with the lowest wage level when determining how many times to enter the registration into the pool(s).

This new "weighted selection" for H-1B registrations is separate from the prevailing wage analysis. An employer completes the prevailing wage analysis to prepare its Labor Condition Application for filing with the DOL in an H-1B case. The Labor Condition Application shows that, under DOL rules, the employer will pay the higher of the actual or prevailing wage for the job offered. The H-1B registration weighted selection is based solely on the salary offered, not the prevailing wage.

Fraud Deterrents

USCIS has created several safeguards to deter employers from inflating the salary offered on the registration to gain an unfair advantage. For example, after USCIS selects a registration, the federal agency will require the employer to submit evidence of how it determined the wage level as stated on the registration. Such evidence may include the DOL prevailing wage data sheet for the occupation in the geographic area (showing the DOL wage levels), the employer's reason for assigning the foreign national to a particular worksite location, and the employer's internal salary analysis. Further, USCIS has issued a new version of its H-1B petition, which is mandatory beginning on April 1, 2026. This petition asks for more detailed information about the foreign national's qualifications, including the individual's education, experience, skills, and other background. USCIS will use this information to assess the employer's determination of the salary offered. USCIS will pay particular attention to any employer that successfully completes an H-1B case only to seek an amendment shortly thereafter to decrease the salary offered or change the worksite location to a geographic area with lower wages.

Increased Government Investigations

Just as USCIS and other divisions of DHS are focusing on compliance issues, the DOL is increasing H-1B compliance audits. Through Project Firewall, the DOL intends to investigate more aggressively whether employers are complying with their H-1B obligations on pay and related issues. Employers will be subject to a higher risk of site visits and investigations by the DHS and DOL in 2026 and beyond.

Best Practice: With the new procedures and the higher risk of compliance investigations, employers seeking H-1B authorization under the new cap must proceed carefully throughout the H-1B process (ensuring no discrepancies across the registration, H-1B case, and H-1B employment).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.