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The United States government announced a key reform of the H-1B visa program, aimed at protecting the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities of American workers, according to reported by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The new regulation eliminates the random lottery system that was previously used to assign visas and replaces it with a weighted selection process, prioritizing foreign workers with higher skills and higher salaries.
“The existing random selection process was exploited and abused by American employers who sought to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay to American workers,” stated Matthew Tragesser, spokesperson for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
According to the official explained in the text published by the DHS, the new system better aligns with Congress's original intent for the H-1B program and strengthens the country's competitiveness by encouraging companies to hire highly skilled and well-paid foreign talent without harming the local workforce.
Currently, the number of H-1B visas is limited to 65,000 annually, with an additional 20,000 reserved for individuals with advanced degrees obtained from U.S. universities. The lottery system has faced criticism for years for allowing unscrupulous employers to flood the process with applications for low-skilled and low-wage workers.
With the reform, the likelihood of visas being granted to candidates with better professional credentials and higher salary levels will increase, although the DHS assured that the program will still allow hiring across all salary ranges.
The new rule will come into effect on February 27, 2026 and will apply to the registration season for fiscal year 2027.
This measure is part of a broader strategy by the administration of Donald Trump to enhance the integrity of the H-1B program. Among the recent changes is a Presidential Proclamation that requires employers to pay an additional $100,000 for each visa as a condition for eligibility.
"As part of the Trump Administration's commitment to H-1B reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and applicants to prevent harm to American workers and to put America first," emphasized Tragesser.
The reform also occurs in a context of increased political and ideological scrutiny over H-1B visa applicants. At the beginning of December, the administration launched an offensive against what it considers censorship of free speech, particularly targeting applicants associated with content moderation, fact-checking, and digital security on technology platforms.
An internal memorandum from the State Department, revealed by Reuters, instructed U.S. consulates to rigorously review the work histories, resumes, and social media profiles of applicants and their family members to identify any potential connections to activities deemed as censorship.
According to the directive, if it is determined that an applicant was "responsible or complicit in censoring protected expressions in the United States," a determination of ineligibility must be issued under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
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