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- What can I do to make my case more likely to be selected in the H-1B CAP registration process for FY2027?
It is not what YOU can do but what your Employer can do.
If your employer offers you a Level IV (Four) wage, you will receive four (4) chances of being selected. If your employer offers you a Level III (three) wage, you will receive three (3) chances of being selected. If your employer offers you a Level II (two) wage, you will receive two (2) chances of being selected. If your employer offers you a Level I (one) wage, you will receive only one (1) opportunity to be selected. You can find the wage levels for a given area of employment by utilizing the Department of Labor’s wage search tool: https://flag.dol.gov/wage-data/wage-search.
Given the changes to the registration process for this year, if you need assistance, contact MVP Law Group, P.A., we’d be happy to assist you.
- I am currently in my first year of OPT after graduating from a U.S. university with my bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, and I will be eligible for another two (2) year STEM OPT. Should my employer submit an H-1B CAP registration for FY2027, or just wait until next year or later?
Given the H-1B CAP registration process is a random lottery selection process and will be weighted this year thus increasing your chances of being selected the higher the wage level offered by your employer, we recommend that you submit an H-1B CAP registration each year that you are eligible.
If you are not experienced with the H-1B CAP registration process, contact MVP Law Group, P.A., we’d be happy to assist you.
- When will I know if my case is selected in the H-1B CAP process?
The H1B CAP Registration process will open in early March 2026 and will likely run for a period of roughly two (2) weeks. As in past years, USCIS will conduct the lottery selection process once the registration period closes, and all employers whose candidates were selected in the process will be notified no later than March 31st. Employers will receive an email alert and/or text message to check their USCIS account, if any of their candidates have been selected. If chosen, the H-1B CAP petition will need to be filed between April 1st, 2026, and June 30, 2026.
If your company has not filed an H-1B CAP petition in recent years, contact MVP Law Group, we’d be happy to assist you with this process.
- Is the H-1B CAP registration fee still $10.00?
No, the H-1B CAP registration fee for FY2027 is $215.00 per registration. The USCIS will receive $215.00 for every H-1B CAP registration successfully submitted during this year’s H-1B CAP registration period. For FY2026, 343,737 eligible H-1B CAP registrations were filed.
If you need assistance with the registration process, contact MVP Law Group, P.A., we’d be happy to assist.
- Will I have a better chance at being selected if my employer submits my H-1B CAP registration on the first day, or the last day?
It does not matter what day your H-1B CAP registration is submitted, it is a random lottery selection process. We highly recommend that your H-1B CAP registration is submitted a few days after registration officially opens and a few days before registration officially closes due to technical glitches that often occur with the system due to system overload.
Contact MVP Law Group, P.A., for assistance with the H-1B registration process for FY2027, we’d be happy to help.
- What countries are subject to this PAUSE on the issuance of Immigrant Visas (Green Cards)?
Effective January 21, 2026, the Department of State is pausing all visa issuances to immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of the following countries:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
- We were just notified that our Immigrant Visa family-based cases were documentarily qualified. What happens now?
The Department of State (i.e., the Consulates) will continue to schedule applicants for immigrant visa interviews, but no immigrant visas will be issued to these nationals during this pause.
- I am a U.S. citizen, and I am pregnant and due to give birth within the next two weeks. My husband is awaiting the scheduling of his Immigrant Visa interview in Bangladesh. He has a visitor visa that remains valid for the next 4 years. Will he be able to enter with the visitor visa for our child’s birth?
He should be able to enter based on the Department of State’s published guidance. Per the Department of State, this PAUSE does not apply to tourist visas. This PAUSE is specifically related to the issuance of Immigrant Visas (i.e., Green Cards). The Department of State website states the following “Tourist visa are nonimmigrant visas.”
- When the Administration first took over in January of 2025, they had initiated a pilot Visa Bond program for a very small number of countries. Has that been expanded?
Yes, the Department of State has significantly expanded the countries that are/will be subject to Visa Bonds. Those countries include:
Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia. Nepal, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Many of these countries will be subject to Visa Bonds effective 01/21/2026. The two initial countries subject to the initial pilot program were: Malawi and Zambia.
Any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries, who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa, must post a bond for $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. As a condition of the bond, all visa holders who have posted a visa bond must enter and exit the United States through designated ports of entry.
Source: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/countries-subject-to-visa-bonds.html
- Is the USCIS pause in adjudication of immigration benefits still in effect?
Yes. Effective December 2, 2025, USCIS issued a policy memorandum indicating that there will be a hold and review of all pending asylum applications and all USCIS benefit applications filed by foreign nationals from high-risk countries, along with a comprehensive re-review of approved benefit requests for foreign nationals from countries listed in the Presidential Proclamation who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021. There are exceptions. Those countries include:
Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville (The Republic of the Congo), Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, The Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Palestinian Authority, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
MVP Law Group would like to thank everyone who contributed a question or comment.
Our next “Immigration Q & A Forum” is scheduled for Friday, January 30, 2026!
Please remember to submit your questions/comments on our H1B Visa Lawyer blog!
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