The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday (July 17) that they have received enough applications to fulfill the Congressionally mandated cap for the 2027 fiscal year H-1B visas. The regular cap of 65,000 visas and the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemption (Master’s degree quota) have been fully allocated.
No second lottery will be conducted for those who have not been selected. Being selected in the lottery and having the employer submit the H-1B visa application on time does not guarantee approval. Cases will continue to be processed as usual, awaiting a decision from the immigration authorities. Those not selected will need to wait for the next fiscal year’s application season or consider alternative visa options such as eligible cap-exempt H-1B, O-1, L-1 visas, etc.
The 65,000 regular cap visas represent the annual base quota for H-1B visas, with most first-time foreign professional applicants falling into this category.
The 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemption quota is specifically reserved for individuals holding a Master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university. They are first included in the 20,000 advanced degree lottery. If not selected, they are then placed into the regular cap pool, competing alongside Bachelor’s degree holders for the remaining 65,000 slots. Individuals with regular degrees (Bachelor’s, including Master’s/PhD degrees obtained outside the U.S.) only have one chance in the lottery, competing for the 65,000 slots.
In addition to the regular H-1B quota (Cap-Subject), there are cap-exempt positions with no annual limit, limited to specific non-profit organizations, including higher education institutions, non-profit entities affiliated with higher education institutions, non-profit research organizations, and government research institutions.