Enough petitions have been filed by employers to reach the fiscal year 2027 cap for the H-1B visa program heavily used by tech firms, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday.
This year was the first selection cycle for the H-1B program since the Trump administration overhauled the annual lottery to favor the most highly paid and senior-level workers. That shift was one of a slew of new measures targeting H-1B employers, including a $100,000 fee added last year for workers hired from outside the US.
A statutory cap limits the program to 85,000 new visa slots each year, including 20,000 reserved for workers with an advanced degree.
