The average selection rate was 35% last year, according to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Companies, particularly in the technology sector, that seek to bring skilled foreign workers to the US filed fewer petitions for these non-immigrant visas this season due to high application fees and uncertainty amid an overhaul of the lottery system. This contributed to the higher acceptance rate, according to experts. The USCIS started sending notifications to employers after the H-1B application window ended on March 19. The selected candidates will have 90 days, starting April 1, to file for the visa at US embassies or consulates in their home countries.
Unlike previous years, the H-1B registration saw a significant overhaul this year.
In addition to the $100,000 fee for fresh H-1B petitions that came into effect on September 21, 2025, the Trump administration also introduced selection of H-1B registrations based on wage levels in place of random lottery for FY27. The fiscal year for the USCIS begins in September.
These measures had resulted in a 30-50% decline in the number of petitions filed this H-1B cap season. Gnanamookan Senthurjothi, founder of immigration platform The Visa Code, said that if they were filing 100 applications last year, this year they filed only 30-40. Also, most applications were for higher wage levels.
Shift in H-1B selection
Xiao Wang, founder & CEO of Boundless Immigration, said: “We are seeing nearly 50% selection rates across our customers, a record high rate.” Several immigration attorneys also said they are seeing a similar trend.
Daniella Goldman, CEO, Build by Open Avenues, a US-based platform that helps candidates with H-1B process and Julian Meneilley, who handles operations at Deel, shared on LinkedIn that they were seeing a 50% selection rate for their applications. The focus of employers this year, experts said, was on higher wage levels, master’s degree candidates and those already residing in the US.
Who is impacted
Startups and jobs that require freshers or early-stage workers with lower levels of salaries, and industries that traditionally do not pay as much as other industries, such as the not-for-profit sector, are not competitive enough in the current system, said Immigration.com founder Rajiv Khanna.
Large IT outsourcing companies that employ Indian workers are expected to be hit significantly.
“The largest impact will be on Indians,” Boundless’ Wang said. With traditional IT consulting firms not filing significant numbers of applications this year, he predicted a dramatic shift in countries of origin of H-1B registrants selected away from India towards China and the rest of the world.
