The new guidance is the latest in a growing Trump administration crackdown on legal and illegal immigration, as well as H1B visas that companies use to hire foreign talent in the United States. | Photo credit: istock.com
In a significant change to the H-1B visa program, the Trump administration is replacing the random lottery system that selected visa recipients with a process that prioritizes issuing visas to higher-skilled and better-paid individuals.
The new guidance is the latest in a growing Trump administration crackdown on legal and illegal immigration, as well as H1B visas that companies use to hire foreign talent in the United States. Indian professionals are among the largest cohort of H1B visa holders in the US.
In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said it is changing the rules governing the H-1B work visa selection process to prioritize issuing visas to higher-skilled and better-paid individuals to better protect wages, working conditions and employment opportunities for American workers.
The new rule is effective February 27, 2026 and applies to the H-1B cap registration season in fiscal year 2027.
The new system replaces the random lottery used to select visa recipients with a process that gives greater weight to those with higher abilities, it said.
The agency said the lottery system used to select H-1B visa applicants was rife with abuse and was exploited by companies to recruit foreign workers at low wages.
“The existing random selection process for H-1B registrations has been exploited and abused by U.S. employers, primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” said Matthew Tragesser, spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). “The new weighted selection will better reflect Congress’s intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by encouraging American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers. 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 abuses that have harmed American workers.”
USCIS said the rule is another critical step in strengthening the integrity of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. This is consistent with other important changes the government has made, such as the 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 foreign nationals to not undercut American workers and to put America first,” Tragesser said. The number of H-1B visas issued annually is capped at 65,000, with an additional 20,000 for U.S. advanced degree holders.
According to USCIS, the current random selection process has often been criticized for allowing unscrupulous employers to exploit it by flooding the selection pool with lower-skilled foreign workers paid at low wages, to the detriment of the American workforce. To address these concerns, the final rule will establish a weighted selection process that will increase the likelihood that H-1B visas will be awarded to higher-skilled and better-paid individuals, while maintaining the ability for employers to attract H-1B workers at all wage levels.
In the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, the administration has announced a series of measures to curb abuses in the H-1B visa program. The Trump administration announced a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications.
Beginning December 15, the State Department also began increased review and review of H-1B and dependent H-4 visas, including reviewing applicants’ social media profiles.
Due to this policy, several H-1B visa interviews scheduled across India were postponed and brought forward by months, leaving many visa holders who had traveled to India for visa stamping unable to proceed.
The State Department has emphasized that a U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right, and said it uses all available information in visa screening and review to identify visa applicants who are ineligible for entry into the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national or public security.
Published on December 24, 2025