H-1B Cap Lottery Timelines Released by USCIS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has recently announced important dates for the upcoming H-1B visa lottery. The lottery registration period for fiscal year (“FY”) 2026 will run from 11:00 a.m. CST on March 7, 2025, through 11:00 a.m. CST on March 24, 2025, and petitioners and their representatives must use the electronic registration process to submit beneficiary registrations.
USCIS will continue to utilize the organizational accounts rolled out in FY 2025, which allows collaboration between legal representatives and organizations for H-1B beneficiary registration and online filing of the H-1B cap petitions. USCIS has announced enhancements to the organizational accounts for this year’s cap lottery, which aims to improve functionalities for legal and company representatives. Each registration must be prepared and submitted through “myUSCIS” and the H-1B lottery registration fee has been increased from $10 to $215.
Once the registration period closes on March 24th, if there are more registrations than there are available visas (i.e., 65,000 regular H-1Bs and an additional 20,000 allocated to foreign nationals with U.S. graduate degrees), USCIS will use an electronic lottery system to select registrations. Account holders will be notified by March 31st via their myUSCIS accounts if their registration was selected in the lottery. Consult your immigration counsel now to plan upcoming H-1B petition submissions and discuss related timelines.
Trump’s Proposed U.S. “Gold Card”: Should EB-5 Program Investors and Other Stakeholders be Worried?
In an unexpected move, U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced plans for a new “Gold Card” visa program, aimed at wealthy non-U.S. investors willing to pay $5 million for U.S. residency and a path to citizenship. This proposal has sparked intense debate and concern about the effect of such a program on existing immigration programs, particularly the EB-5 investor visa. Although the details of any newly-proposed “Gold Card” visa category are scarce, what is known suggests that this proposed program would feature:
- A $5 million investment requirement, significantly higher than the EB-5 program’s $800,000 to $1,050,000 range
- Permanent residency status and a pathway to citizenship
- No explicit job creation requirements, unlike the EB-5 program
- Potential tax incentives, such as exemption from worldwide taxation
U.S. Secretary Howard Lutnick referred to this visa concept as the “Trump Gold Card”, emphasizing its potential to bring in wealthy and successful individuals who would spend money, pay taxes and create employment opportunities in the United States. No mention was made as to how or why a “Gold Card” could or should replace the EB-5 Program as a consequence.
While President Trump’s Gold Card proposal represents a bold reimagining of investment-based immigration, its implementation is likely to face substantial legal and political challenges. The President’s authority to unilaterally replace an established visa program is non-existent, and any such change would require a material change in direction within the U.S. Congress and ultimately, formal congressional action to implement. With this in mind and in view of the EB-5 program 30-year history and Congress’ ongoing commitment to EB-5 and other investment-based immigration programs, elimination of the EB-5 investor visa is unlikely. Depending on the Trump Administration’s commitment to the “Gold Card” program, it is possible that we could see some intense discussions among policymakers, industry stakeholders and immigration experts as they grapple with the future of investment-based immigration in the United States. Please continue to monitor Immigration Insights for the latest updates and developments.
DID YOU KNOW?
Munsch Hardt’s Immigration Practice Group assists nonprofit organizations with petitioning for cap exemption, allowing organizations to submit H-1B petitions year-round and beyond the annual 85,000 cap. Most recently, the team assisted a faith-based organization qualify as a cap-exempt entity and employ a foreign national in a specialized capacity without concern for the fiscal year limit.