In a major update, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday that there will be no second lottery for fiscal year 2027. “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received sufficient petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap for fiscal year 2027 and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree waiver, known as the master cap,” the agency said.When they fail to meet the prescribed limit, the agency conducts a second round of lottery. A second or third round of the lottery was also expected this year because this year’s H-1B lottery was different. For the first time, USCIS held a salary-based lottery instead of a random one, and it is also the first time that employers must pay $100,000 for each H-1B petition they file.Low number of registrations: Due to many new rules, there were less registrations for the lottery this time. Experts believed that the lower numbers could open up more opportunities for the second or third round of the lottery. About 211,600 H-1B registrations were filed for fiscal year 2027, compared to 343,981 for fiscal year 2026.Salary Based Lottery: Fiscal year 2027 was the first year that USCIS used a salary-based lottery, replacing the previous random selection process. Got better chances of selection in higher paying jobs. Because employers were entering unfamiliar territory, some experts expected filing behavior to be less predictable.New $100K Fee: The Trump administration also introduced a $100,000 H-1B fee, allowing employers to be more selective about who they register. Many companies have submitted fewer registrations compared to previous years. It was expected that many employers would not file a petition even after an employee was selected by lottery because of the fees.