H-1B registrations collapse 38.5% for FY 2027 cap, USCIS data shows
Total H-1B registrations fell from 343,981 in FY 2026 to 211,600 in FY 2027 — the steepest year-on-year drop in the programme's history. Indian-origin workers, who account for roughly 71% of approvals, take the brunt.
Total H-1B registrations for the FY 2027 cap fell to 211,600, down from 343,981 in FY 2026 — a 38.5 per cent year-on-year collapse, USCIS confirmed in newsroom updates released in late May 2026.
It is the steepest single-year fall in the programme's history. The drop reflects three converging changes: the weighted-selection final rule that took effect 27 February 2026, which now favours higher-wage and higher-skilled candidates; a $100,000 additional fee for certain post-21-September-2025 petitions under a Presidential Proclamation; and broad employer adjustment to the new economics.
The composition of selected registrations also shifted. Only 17.7 per cent of selections landed in the lowest wage category, while 71.5 per cent of selected applicants held a US master's degree or higher — up from 57 per cent in the prior cycle.
For Indian-origin workers — who historically account for around 71 per cent of all H-1B approvals — the reform shifts the candidate profile substantially. Entry-level Indian IT consultants are out; senior engineers and specialty-occupation post-graduates are in. The diaspora pipeline from Hyderabad-trained IT services to American H-1B is the part most directly affected.
What the new economics means for FY 2028 planning is the question every immigration adviser to Indian employers and employees is now working through.
Sources: USCIS Newsroom · Federal Register, weighted selection rule · VisaVerge analysis.
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