H-1B Lottery Registrations and Selections by Fiscal Year
Starting with FY 2021 (the March 2020 lottery), employers first register online and USCIS selects from those registrations. That is also the first year USCIS published registration and selection counts. Every number on this page comes from USCIS:
- The FY 2021–FY 2026 summary table is from the USCIS H-1B Electronic Registration Process page.
- The round-by-round figures come from earlier versions of that same page. Each year USCIS rewrites the page and drops the previous year's narrative; the old versions survive in the Internet Archive, linked under Sources.
- The FY 2027 figures come from a USCIS post on X dated May 21, 2026.
The fiscal year is one year ahead of the lottery
The FY 2027 lottery ran in March 2026, and selected beneficiaries could start H-1B employment on October 1, 2026 at the earliest. This page always refers to the fiscal year, with the lottery year in parentheses.
Summary table
| Fiscal year (lottery year) | Total registrations | Eligible registrations | Selected registrations | Selected ÷ eligible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 (2020) | 274,237 | 269,424 | 124,415 | 46.2% |
| 2022 (2021) | 308,613 | 301,447 | 131,924 | 43.8% |
| 2023 (2022) | 483,927 | 474,421 | 127,600 | 26.9% |
| 2024 (2023) | 780,884 | 758,994 | 188,400 | 24.8% |
| 2025 (2024) | 479,953 | 470,342 | 135,137 | 28.7% |
| 2026 (2025) | 358,737 | 343,981 | 120,141 | 34.9% |
| 2027 (2026) | Not published | 211,600 | Not published | Not published |
- Eligible registrations: USCIS defines these as total registrations minus duplicates, registrations deleted by the prospective employer before the registration period closed, registrations with invalid passport or travel document information, and registrations with failed payments.
- The last column is calculated on this page from the USCIS figures; USCIS does not publish a selection rate. For FY 2024 and earlier it is the rate per registration, not per person — see the next section.
- The FY 2027 figure of 211,600 is what USCIS calls "properly submitted registrations." USCIS compared it directly with 343,981 for FY 2026 to report a 38.5% drop; 343,981 is the FY 2026 eligible-registration count in the table above.
85,000 ÷ 211,600 is not the FY 2027 selection rate
Some reports divided 85,000 by 211,600 and called the result, about 40%, the FY 2027 selection rate. 85,000 is the annual cap set by Congress (65,000 regular plus 20,000 master's), not the number of registrations USCIS selects. USCIS selects more than that based on prior years' filing rates and approval, denial, and revocation data; in every year from FY 2021 through FY 2026 it selected more than 120,000 registrations. USCIS has not published how many it selected for FY 2027.
Multiple registrations: through FY 2024, the rate is not an individual's chance
Through FY 2024, USCIS selected by registration: a person with registrations from several employers had that many entries in the pool. Starting with FY 2025, USCIS selects by beneficiary (beneficiary-centric selection). Each person enters the pool once no matter how many registrations they have, and if selected, every registration filed for them is marked selected.
| Fiscal year | Registrations for beneficiaries with only one registration | Registrations for beneficiaries with multiple registrations | Beneficiaries (approx.) | Employers (approx.) | Registrations per beneficiary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 241,299 | 28,125 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2022 | 211,304 | 90,143 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2023 | 309,241 | 165,180 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2024 | 350,103 | 408,891 | 446,000 | 52,000 | 1.70 |
| 2025 | 423,028 | 47,314 | 442,000 | 52,700 | 1.06 |
| 2026 | 336,153 | 7,828 | 339,000 | 57,600 | 1.01 |
The first two columns add up to the eligible-registration count in the summary table. The beneficiary and employer counts are the approximate figures USCIS gives on its page; the registrations-per-beneficiary figures are also from USCIS.
Of the 758,994 eligible registrations in FY 2024, 408,891 belonged to beneficiaries with multiple registrations, and there were only about 446,000 beneficiaries. So that year's 24.8% (selected ÷ eligible registrations) cannot be read as an individual's chance of selection.
From FY 2025 on, USCIS also publishes the number of selected beneficiaries, so a per-person rate can be calculated:
- FY 2025: 127,624 beneficiaries selected across two rounds (114,017 + 13,607) out of about 442,000, roughly 28.9%.
- FY 2026: 118,660 beneficiaries selected out of about 339,000, roughly 35.0%.
Under beneficiary-centric selection, selected registrations outnumber selected beneficiaries: in FY 2025, 135,137 selected registrations corresponded to 127,624 people. USCIS noted in its FY 2025 table footnote that this year's selected-registration count is not completely comparable to earlier years that selected by registration.
Selection rounds by year
After the March registration period closes, USCIS estimates how many registrations it needs from prior years' approval, denial, and revocation data and runs an initial selection. If the petitions filed from those selections fall short of the cap, it selects more from the unselected registrations. In Chinese these later rounds are nicknamed "haidilao" (scooping from the bottom of the pot); see H-1B follow-up selections (in Chinese).
Through FY 2024, USCIS published selected registrations only; from FY 2025 it also publishes selected beneficiaries.
| Fiscal year | Initial (March) | Second round | Third round | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 106,100 registrations | August 2020: 18,315 registrations | — | 124,415 registrations |
| 2022 | 87,500 registrations | July 28, 2021: 27,717 registrations | November 19, 2021: 16,753 registrations | 131,970 registrations (as announced at the time) 131,924 registrations (later summary table) |
| 2023 | 127,600 registrations | — | — | 127,600 registrations |
| 2024 | 110,791 registrations | July 2023: 77,600 registrations | — | 188,400 registrations |
| 2025 | 114,017 beneficiaries 120,603 registrations | August 2024: 13,607 beneficiaries 14,534 registrations | — | 127,624 beneficiaries 135,137 registrations |
| 2026 | 118,660 beneficiaries 120,141 registrations | — | — | 118,660 beneficiaries 120,141 registrations |
| 2027 | Not published | — | — | Not published |
Notes on each year:
- FY 2021: USCIS said the second round was needed because of low filing volume from the initial selection.
- FY 2022: the only year from FY 2021 through FY 2027 with three rounds. The USCIS page in December 2021 gave a three-round total of 131,970; the later summary table gives 131,924. USCIS has not explained the difference.
- FY 2024: 110,791 in the initial round plus 77,600 in the second is 188,391; the summary table gives 188,400. USCIS said the initial selection was smaller than in prior years because (a) it set a higher anticipated filing rate based on prior years, and (b) it projected more Department of State approvals of H-1B1 visas, which count against the H-1B cap.
- FY 2025: USCIS said the initial selection was smaller because it anticipated a higher filing rate under beneficiary-centric selection. The second round covered only the regular cap, not the master's cap. USCIS announced on December 2, 2024 that the cap had been reached.
- FY 2026: one round only. USCIS announced on July 18, 2025 that both the regular cap and the master's cap had been reached; see USCIS announcement on the end of the 2025 H-1B lottery (in Chinese).
- FY 2027: one round only. USCIS announced on March 31, 2026 that the initial selection was sufficient, and on July 17, 2026 that both the regular cap and the master's cap had been reached.
FY 2027: the first weighted selection
FY 2027 was the first year of wage-level weighted selection (in Chinese). Under the rule, effective February 27, 2026, each registration states the highest OEWS wage level that the proffered wage equals or exceeds for the SOC code in the area of intended employment. Level IV registrations are entered into the pool four times, Level III three times, Level II twice, and Level I once.
In its X post of May 21, 2026, USCIS published three figures:
- Properly submitted registrations fell 38.5%, from 343,981 in FY 2026 to 211,600 in FY 2027.
- 71.5% of selected beneficiaries hold a U.S. master's degree or higher, compared with 57% in FY 2026.
- Only 17.7% of selected registrations were in the lowest wage level.
As of this page's last update, USCIS has not published the FY 2027 number of selected registrations, selected beneficiaries, unique beneficiaries, or employers. The USCIS summary table was last updated on September 21, 2026 and still ends at FY 2026.
In the same period, a presidential proclamation requires an additional $100,000 payment for certain H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025; see The $100,000 H-1B proclamation (in Chinese).
FY 2020 and earlier
Before FY 2021 there was no electronic registration. Employers filed complete H-1B petitions in April, USCIS ran the lottery on the petitions, and it published the number of petitions received. For example, on April 11, 2019, USCIS announced it had received 201,011 petitions for FY 2020. Petitions and registrations count different things, so this page does not put FY 2020 and earlier in the tables above.
Sources
- USCIS: H-1B Electronic Registration Process: FY 2021–FY 2026 summary table; beneficiary and employer counts for FY 2025 and FY 2026.
- Internet Archive snapshots of the same page:
- December 2021: FY 2021 and FY 2022 rounds.
- May 2022: FY 2023 initial selection.
- September 2023: FY 2024 rounds.
- August 2024: FY 2025 rounds; beneficiary and employer counts for FY 2024.
- April 2025: FY 2025 cap reached on December 2, 2024.
- August 2025: FY 2026 selected beneficiaries.
- USCIS post on X (May 21, 2026): FY 2027 registrations, share with a U.S. master's degree, share in the lowest wage level.
- USCIS: FY 2027 H-1B Initial Registration Selection Process Completed (March 31, 2026).
- USCIS: USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2027 H-1B Cap (July 17, 2026).
- USCIS: Second Random Selection for Regular Cap, FY 2025: the FY 2025 second round covered only the regular cap.
- USCIS: H-1B Cap Season: number of entries per wage level under weighted selection.
- USCIS: FY 2020 H-1B cap random selection (April 11, 2019): petitions received for FY 2020.