H-1B Cap Reached for FY 2026; New H-1B Proposed Rule Will Prioritize Higher Salaries

H-1B cap reached. On July 18, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2026.

USCIS said it will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap numbers, are exempt from the FY 2026 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in additional H-1B positions.

New H-1B proposed rule. USCIS plans to propose a new rule for review by the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The rule would resurrect the first Trump administration’s efforts to prioritize higher salaries in the selection process for H-1B positions.

Details of the new proposed rule have not yet been released, but during the first Trump administration, objections to a similar rule ranged from statutory concerns to the observation that newly minted graduates at lower salaries might be more highly skilled than those with higher salaries due to tenure or seniority, and that prioritizing the latter based on salary alone would prevent employers from hiring highly qualified recent graduates and prevent start-ups from being able to afford to hire top talent.

This is posting is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal advice. If you require further assistance or advice relating to the above, If you require further assistance or advice relating to the above, please contact our Principal Lawyer, Janice Flynn at janice@flynnhodkinson.com.