The Department of Homeland Security will replace the random lottery used to award most H-1B work visas with a weighted selection process designed to favor higher-skilled, higher-paid foreign workers, according to DHS.
DHS said the change is intended to protect U.S. wages and job opportunities by reducing incentives for employers to use the program to hire lower-paid foreign workers. “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, as quoted by DHS.
Under the new rule, DHS said the government will increase the probability of selection for registrations tied to higher wage levels, while still keeping some chance for petitions across all wage levels.
The annual H-1B cap remains 65,000 visas, plus an additional 20,000 visas for applicants with U.S. advanced degrees, DHS said.
DHS said the final rule takes effect Feb. 27, 2026, and will apply to the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap registration season.
The move is part of a broader H-1B overhaul, DHS said, pointing to a separate presidential proclamation that would require employers to pay an additional $100,000 per visa as a condition of eligibility.
