The FY 2026 H-1B visa lottery witnessed a significant decrease in registrations. According to reports, the total number of applicants was approximately 442,000, roughly the same as FY 2024 (446,000). However, the number of valid registrations has already declined significantly in recent years, dropping from 758,994 in FY 2024 to 470,342 in FY 2025—a decrease of 38.6%.
Major selection reforms
For FY 2026, USCIS has continued its beneficiary-centric selection procedure, introduced in FY 2025 to address concerns about the lottery system’s integrity. This reform ensures each unique beneficiary is entered into the selection process only once, regardless of how many registrations are submitted on their behalf. By eliminating multiple…
