USCIS Releases FY 2026 H-1B Cap Registration Numbers

USCIS recently posted its FY 2026 H-1B cap lottery update, announcing it received 358,737 total registrations in the FY 2026 (March 2025) H-1B cap lottery. The total number of registrations submitted in FY 2026 decreased 25% from FY 2025, when 479,953 total registrations were submitted. 

The H-1B CAP lottery was open to employees filling positions requiring bachelor’s degrees, which may include healthcare occupations such as Medical Technologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and even Registered Nurses.

The table below provides the total number of H-1B registrations from FY 2021 - 2026:

Fiscal Year	H-1B registrations
2026	358,737
2025	479,953
2024	780,884
2023	483,927
2022	308,613
2021	274,237

 

As indicated by the table, the number of H-1B cap registrations has steadily declined since FY 2024. USCIS credits its final rule Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity, which was implemented in 2024 and introduced a beneficiary-centric registration system designed to prevent employers from submitting duplicate registrations for the same individual. 

H-1B registrations once again far outnumbered the 85,000 cap, and a total of 120,141 registrations were selected for FY 2026. Those selected in the lottery have been notified and must file their full H-1B petitions with USCIS by June 30, 2025.

If less than 85,000 CAP petitions are filed by June 30, 2025, USCIS may issue additional selections in a subsequent round of the lottery. Individuals whose registrations are listed in the Registrant’s online account as “Submitted” are not yet rejected in the CAP but are eligible to be chosen in a later round of the lottery.

June 2025 Visa Bulletin: Notable Progress for Mexico, Philippines, and Rest of World

The Department of State has just issued the June 2025 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these priority dates or earlier may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment:

Table B: Dates for Filing

USCIS will continue to use the Table A Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings in June 2025. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

The EB-2 and EB-3 categories in all chargeability areas except for India moved forward in June 2025.

EB-2 Mexico, Philippines and Rest of World moved forward nearly 4 months, the most progress in those categories since the start of the fiscal year in October 2024.

EB-3 Mexico, Philippines and Rest of World moved forward 5 weeks, the most progress in those categories since the start of the fiscal year in October 2024.

All EB-1 categories, as well as EB-2 India and EB-3 India, remained steady and made no progress.

Department of State Launches IV Scheduling Status Tool

On April 29, 2025, the Department of State launched the Immigrant Visa (IV) Scheduling Status Tool, which will provide greater transparency for Green Card applicants who are currently delayed from entering the US while awaiting their Green Card interview abroad.

Updated monthly, the IV Scheduling Status Tool provides information by post and visa category indicating the month and year in which recently scheduled cases became documentarily complete.

The date a case becomes “documentarily complete” is date that NVC determines an applicant has paid the necessary fees and submitted all required documents.

The IV Tool is available for applicants in all employment-based Green Card categories, including Registered Nurses and other healthcare workers.

USCIS Should Update H-1B Policy for Nurses

The USCIS should consider issuing a new policy memo to modernize and liberalize the approvability of H-1B visas for registered nurses. The current guidance—based on a 2015 memo from the Obama administration—is outdated and no longer reflects the realities of the U.S. healthcare workforce.

The U.S. Faces a Critical Nursing Shortage

Nursing remains one of the most understaffed professions in the United States. This shortage is driven by several key factors:

• An aging population that is increasing demand for healthcare services.
• A large number of nurses retiring from an aging workforce.
• Bottlenecks in nursing education due to faculty shortages and limited training capacity.

To address this crisis, allowing more foreign-trained nurses into the U.S. through H-1B visas could provide much-needed relief.

Why H-1B Approval for Nurses Makes Sense Now

Historically, USCIS has been reluctant to approve H-1B petitions for registered nurses because bedside nursing roles did not universally require a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). However, that landscape has changed significantly.

According to a recent study by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 72% of registered nurses in the U.S. now hold at least a BSN. (Source)

Given this shift, the USCIS should revise its policy to instruct officers to generally approve H-1B petitions for RN positions requiring a BSN.

No Risk of Job Offshoring

Some critics of the H-1B program argue that it can lead to offshoring of American jobs—especially in the IT sector. That concern does not apply to nursing. RN positions are inherently in-person and cannot be outsourced. A nurse must be physically present to care for patients. The real choice facing U.S. patients is not between a U.S. nurse and an international one—it is between having a nurse or going without care.