H-1B comparison guide
How to compare H-1B timelines without mixing stages
Compare registrations with registrations, petitions with petitions, and visa appointments with visa appointments.
Written and checked by C. Githii. Last checked September 25, 2026. Research and verification follow the QueueCheck editorial standards. How we verify information
H-1B FY2027: USCIS says the regular cap and master's cap have been reached
Updated Aug 25, 2026
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Compare H-1B visa lottery cases on matching facts
Compare the official estimate with checked reader reports from the same route, stage, and starting month.
Official wait
No single official number
Published as official guidance rather than one number; the official summary on this page has the full picture.
Updated Aug 25
The official figure is the only timing on this page so far. Reader comparisons appear here once people share their dates below.
A selected registration is not a faster petition
Only compare the same fiscal year, stage, filing type, service centre, premium-processing choice, and consular post. Stories that skip those details can make a normal wait look alarming.
Record the start and end of each clock
For registration, record submission and selection notice dates. For Form I-129, use USCIS receipt and decision dates. For visa stamping, use appointment booking, interview, decision, and passport-return dates. Combining those stages into one number hides the part that actually caused the wait.
Premium and regular petitions need separate comparisons
A premium-processing case should not be used to judge an ordinary I-129 petition. Record when Form I-907 was received, whether USCIS issued an evidence request, and when the employer answered it. The 15-business-day premium clock describes USCIS action, not guaranteed approval or visa issuance.
For regular processing, match the change-of-status, extension-of-stay, or consular-notification category shown for the petition because USCIS publishes them separately.
Do not mix USCIS's published regular-processing data with premium cases
USCIS states that cases handled with premium processing are excluded from the processing-time calculations shown in its regular processing-time tool. That makes a premium case a poor comparison for someone trying to judge an ordinary petition against the public processing figure.
The historical national I-129 table also separates premium and non-premium petitions. When you save or share a timeline, keep the premium-processing choice as its own field so a very fast premium case does not make the regular queue look slower than it is.
Visa stamping remains outside both petition comparisons. Even two workers with identical I-129 decision times can finish at different dates if they use different consular posts or one case enters additional post-interview processing.
Build a like-for-like H-1B visa lottery comparison
- Fiscal year and whether the registration was selected.
- Registration, petition, USCIS decision, or consular visa stage.
- Premium processing and the service centre, where a petition was filed.
Help improve the wait data
Add a H-1B visa lottery timeline others can compare
Share the date that starts your timeline so other readers can compare similar waits. It takes about a minute. QueueCheck checks each report before it affects public wait numbers.
Official benchmarks used to compare H-1B visa lottery
H-1B visa lottery in United States should be compared against the official source first, then against waits shared by readers only as context.
Do not compare unlike cases: service type, channel, office, start month, and case stage can all change the queue.
Keep official numbers and waits shared by readers separate so you know what each number actually means.
Updates to check before comparing H-1B visa lottery timelines
Sep 11, 2026 · USCIS: H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2027
USCIS closes first-half FY 2027 H-2B cap after September 4 receipts
September 4, 2026 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B petitions requesting employment before April 1, 2027. USCIS says it will reject later cap-subject filings for those start dates.
Aug 25, 2026 · USCIS: DHS proposes additional H-1B fee
$103,265 H-1B fee proposal: who would pay and who would not
Nothing is payable yet. DHS wants to add $103,265 to every cap-subject H-1B petition. See which filings are covered, which are not, and what must happen first.
Jul 18, 2026 · USCIS newsroom alert, July 17, 2026
H-1B visa lottery updates: what USCIS cap reached means now
USCIS says the FY2027 H-1B regular cap and master's cap have been reached. Here is what selected, not selected, submitted, petition filing, and second-lottery rumors mean.
Questions about comparing H-1B visa lottery waits
What must match before two H-1B timelines are comparable?
Match the fiscal year, registration or petition stage, filing category, premium-processing choice, evidence-request history, and consular post where visa stamping is involved.
Should registration, petition, and visa-stamping days be added together?
They can be shown as a full journey, but each stage should remain separately labelled. Otherwise readers cannot tell whether selection, USCIS adjudication, or the embassy caused the wait.
Official citation
Timing and route details were checked against these official pages. Recheck them before acting because rules and published estimates can change.