Elon Musk’s favorite visa, backed by Trump, opens for registration to work legally in the U.S.
In a month, the registration period will begin for a type of visa that Elon Musk and President Donald Trump have advocated, allowing foreigners to work legally in the United States while paving the way for a possible adjustment of immigration status.
Applications will be received and processed by the federal agency responsible for such functions, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The new registration period is for Fiscal Year 2026, which begins on Oct. 1. Prospective applicants and representatives must use a USCIS online account.
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H-1B visa registration period is here
USCIS has published a notice highlighting that the registration period for H-1B work visas in Fiscal Year 2026 begins at noon on March 7 (EST) and will run through noon on March 24.
Applicants may electronically register each beneficiary for the selection process and pay the appropriate registration fee for each beneficiary. The associated H-1B registration fee is $215 for each registration submitted on behalf of each submission.
The agency will provide an update in the coming weeks on the statutory cap of H-1B visas for Fiscal Year 2026. USCIS also announced that it has “made multiple improvements to the customer experience for organizations and legal representatives filing H-1B petitions”.
These improvements include:
▪ The ability for paralegals to work with multiple legal representatives. A paralegal will now be able to accept invitations from multiple legal representative accounts, allowing for the preparation of H-1B registrations, Form I-129 for H-1B petitions, and Form I-907 premium processing requests for different attorneys, all within a single paralegal account.
▪ A simplified process for legal representatives to add legal assistants to the firm’s clients.
▪ An option to pre-fill certain fields on Form I-129 based on selected H-1B registrations.
▪ The ability to upload a spreadsheet of H-1B beneficiary data to pre-populate information in H-1B registrations.
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Who benefits from the H-1B visa program?
The H-1B visa program is designed to allow businesses and other employers in the United States to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.
Elon Musk, who leads the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency, has defended this type of visa amid calls from technology companies for foreign workers with highly specialized knowledge and a university degree or its equivalent in a specialty field.
Within the H-1B program, key fields include architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine, health, education, business, accounting, law, theology and the arts.
USCIS provides detailed guidance on professionals who may benefit from the program. In some cases, an H-1B beneficiary must possess a state or local license authorizing them to fully practice the specialty work.
Under program regulations, an H-1B visa holder may be legally admitted to the U.S. for up to three years, with the possibility of extending this period. However, this period generally cannot exceed six years. Under certain conditions, an H-1B visa holder may apply for permanent residence in the U.S. to get a green card.
Musk himself has previously commented that the H-1B visa program has allowed him to hire staff for his technology companies, including Tesla — which secured 724 of these visas this year — and Space X.
The visa is highly coveted by Latin Americans looking to move to Miami for work. During his first administration, Trump sought to tighten requirements for companies that hire workers using H-1B visas. However, the president now appears to support the program, even as he maintains a strict policy of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
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This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Elon Musk’s favorite visa, backed by Trump, opens for registration to work legally in the U.S.."
