In the latest changes to the H-1 B visa policy, the Trump administration has announced the replacement of the longstanding lottery system with a skill- and pay-based selection. The Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday (23rd December ) that foreigners with higher skills and higher pay would be prioritised for H-1 B visas. As per the press release of the DHS, the updated system will “implement a weighted selection process that will increase the probability that H-1B visas are allocated to higher-skilled and higher-paid” foreign workers. The changes will become effective from February 27, 2026, and will apply to the upcoming H1-B registration.
The Trump administration has accused US employers of misusing the process by hiring lower-skilled foreign workers paid at low wages, which is said to have deteriorated the US workforce. As a result, the White House introduced a series of changes in the existing H1-B visa selection process. “The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by US employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” said the US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser.
“The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’s intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivising 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 abuse that was harming American workers,” Tragesser added. The annual limit of 65,000 visas, in addition to 20,000 visas for US advanced degree holders, has not been changed.
Earlier, in September this year, the Trump administration had announced an additional $100,000 fee for H-1B visa application per filing. The White House justified the decision, claiming that the move was meant to prevent employers from misusing the existing visa system for hiring foreign workers at low wages. The executive order signed by Trump on 19th September claimed that the US companies have been laying off their American employees to hire aliens on H1-B visas at lower salaries.
