The H-1B visa program has hit its cap for the 2027 fiscal year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday.
The agency accepts 65,000 petitions for the program through its regular cap and an additional 20,000 petitions through its U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap.
Not all H-1B nonimmigrant visas are subject to this annual cap, USCIS has clarified; those working in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam may be exempt, for example.
The Trump administration has added a handful of hurdles to the H-1B visa program, which caters to occupations requiring “a body of highly specialized knowledge.”
Last September, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security proposed to update its visa petition selection process by giving higher-paid offers more entries into a lottery. This would incentivize employers to offer higher wages and pursue workers with higher skill levels, DHS said. The proposal accompanied President Donald Trump’s announcement of a $100,000 fee attached to H-1B visa petitions, a move that drew litigation from the business community.
The $100,000 fee was struck down last month after a judge ruled Trump lacked the authority to impose a tax on the program.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced the enforcement initiative Project Firewall at the same time as the fee last September, focused on protecting the rights and wages of U.S. workers and “maximizing compliance with the H-1B visa program.” The initiative includes prioritization of investigations involving situations where American workers may be displaced or not considered in favor of H-1B workers.
Despite these efforts, the visa program remains heavily used among many large employers. Amazon is the top approved petitioner, USCIS data shows, with nearly 5,000 beneficiaries. Apple, Google, Meta and JPMorgan Chase are also among the top 10 companies in terms of approved petitions.
