The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is set to overhaul how H-1B work visas are allocated, moving away from the long-standing random lottery system toward a model that favors higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign professionals.
The shift, DHS says, is aimed at safeguarding wages, working conditions, and employment opportunities for American workers. Under the new rule, visa selections will be weighted rather than random, giving an advantage to applicants associated with higher skill levels and stronger pay benchmarks.
“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,” said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser. “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.”
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“With these regulatory changes and others in the future, we will continue to update the H-1B program to help American businesses without allowing the abuse that was harming American workers,” Tragesser added.
Each year, the H-1B program allows for 65,000 visas, along with an additional 20,000 slots reserved for foreign nationals holding advanced degrees from U.S. institutions. But many have criticized the current lottery-based system and long argued that it enabled manipulation, particularly by employers submitting large volumes of registrations for lower-paid roles, often sidelining U.S. workers in the process.
The final rule seeks to counter those concerns by increasing the likelihood that visas go to higher-paid and higher-skilled applicants, while still keeping the program accessible across wage levels. DHS confirmed that the regulation will take effect on Feb. 27, 2026, ahead of the FY 2027 H-1B cap registration cycle.
Officials describe the change as part of a broader push to tighten oversight of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. It follows other measures introduced by the administration, including a Presidential Proclamation that conditions eligibility on employers paying an additional $100,000 per visa.
“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.