USCIS Says Fiscal Year 2027 H-1B Cap Has Been Reached

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap has been reached, marking the point at which the agency will no longer accept cap-subject petitions for that filing year. The announcement is significant for employers, workers and immigration attorneys tracking the annual lottery-based visa process tied to specialized occupations.

The H-1B program is one of the most closely watched employment-based immigration channels in the United States. It allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign professionals for temporary work in specialty occupations, but the number of new visas is limited each fiscal year. Once the cap is met, only filings that are exempt from the annual limit may continue to be accepted.

The agency’s notice did not provide additional details about the number of petitions received or the timing of the final filings beyond confirming that the cap has been reached. USCIS alerts of this kind typically signal that the annual allocation process has moved to its closure for new cap-subject cases, leaving prospective petitioners to wait for future filing periods unless they qualify for an exemption.

For many companies, especially in technology, engineering, health care and research sectors, the H-1B cap plays a central role in workforce planning. Employers often prepare petitions months in advance, then monitor USCIS announcements to determine whether they can file under the annual limit. Workers who were not selected or whose petitions were not filed before the cap was reached may need to explore other visa categories or wait for the next cycle.

The fiscal year designation refers to the federal government’s budget calendar rather than the standard calendar year. USCIS has not disclosed additional processing changes tied to the announcement, and no broader policy shift was included in the alert. The notice simply confirms that the cap for fiscal year 2027 has been reached, closing the filing window for cap-subject H-1B petitions for that cycle.