WASHINGTON
The US Department of Homeland Security announced plans to amend regulations governing the H-1B work visa program, replacing the long-standing random lottery with a weighted selection process designed to favor higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign workers.
An official said Tuesday that the change aims to better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities of American workers while aligning the program more closely with congressional intent.
“The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in a statement.
“The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers."
Under current law, the H-1B program is capped at 65,000 visas per year, with an additional 20,000 reserved for applicants holding advanced degrees from US institutions.
Demand for the visas routinely exceeds supply, triggering a random lottery that critics say has enabled some employers to flood the system with applications for lower-wage workers, according to the statement.
The latest measure seeks to address those concerns by increasing the likelihood that visas are awarded to workers with higher skill levels and wages, while still preserving opportunities for employers to hire at all wage levels.
The DHS said the new system would take effect on Feb. 27, applying to the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap registration season.
The regulatory change is part of a broader effort by the administration to tighten oversight of the H-1B program. The statement pointed to earlier actions, including a presidential proclamation requiring employers to pay an additional $100,000 per visa as a condition of eligibility.
“As part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to H-1B reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and aliens so as not to undercut American workers and to put America first,” said Tragesser.