US Approves 273,026 H-1B Renewals in First Nine Months of FY2026

The United States is on track to record its highest number of H-1B visa renewals in fiscal year 2026, with 273,026 continuing employment petitions approved during the first nine months of the year, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data analysed by LayoffHedge.

The total has already reached 273,026 approvals with three months remaining before the fiscal year ends on 30 September. If the current pace continues, it will exceed the previous record of 291,542 approvals set in fiscal year 2025.

The figures highlight an important feature of the H-1B programme that receives less attention than the annual lottery. While public discussion often focuses on the 85,000 visas available each year for new applicants, most H-1B activity involves renewals, extensions and employer transfers. 

These continuing employment petitions are not subject to the statutory cap, allowing approvals to increase without a numerical limit. According to the Pew Research Center, almost 400,000 H-1B petitions were approved in 2024. Around 65 percent of those approvals were for continuing employment rather than first-time applicants.

Experts note that approval totals do not necessarily represent the number of individual workers. The figures may include amended petitions or transfers between employers. Even so, the continued rise in renewals shows that many H-1B workers remain in the programme for several years after their initial approval.

The Trump administration has sought to change the H-1B programme through a series of policy measures. In 2025, it proposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions, but a federal judge blocked the measure in June of that year.

More recently, the administration introduced a wage-based selection system for the 2027 H-1B registration season, replacing the random lottery. The new approach is intended to give priority to applicants offered higher salaries.

USCIS rules allow H-1B workers to change employers if the new employer files a Form I-129 petition before the worker's authorised stay expires and the worker has maintained lawful status. Workers who lose their jobs may remain in the United States during a grace period of up to 60 days, or until the end of their authorised stay, whichever comes first. 

During that time, they may find a new employer, apply to change their immigration status or leave the country. The rising number of renewals shows that the H-1B programme extends well beyond the annual visa lottery. 

While the cap limits the number of new entrants each year, continuing employment petitions allow employers to retain skilled foreign workers over the long term, resulting in hundreds of thousands of renewals each year.