The US has reached the annual cap for H-1B visas for fiscal year 2027 after receiving enough petitions to fill both the regular quota and the advanced degree exemption, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Friday.
In a statement, USCIS said it had received sufficient petitions to meet the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B visa cap as well as the 20,000 additional visas reserved for applicants holding advanced degrees from US institutions, commonly known as the master's cap.
"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, for fiscal year 2027," the agency said in its release.
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The H-1B programme allows US employers to temporarily hire foreign professionals in specialised occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. With the annual cap now reached, USCIS will stop accepting new cap-subject H-1B petitions for FY2027, while eligible cap-exempt petitions will continue to be processed under existing rules.
This year's cap assumes added significance as it marks the first H-1B selection cycle since the Trump administration replaced the long-standing lottery system with a wage-based process that gives preference to higher-paid and more senior-level workers.
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The overhaul was part of a broader tightening of H-1B rules, which also included a $100,000 fee introduced last year for employers hiring eligible workers from outside the US.
The H-1B programme remains one of the primary pathways for technology companies and other specialised employers to recruit global talent. By law, the programme is capped at 85,000 new visas each fiscal year, including the 20,000 visas earmarked for applicants with advanced degrees from US institutions.
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