WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security announced a major change to how H-1B work visas are awarded, ending the long-standing random lottery and replacing it with a system that favors higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign workers.
Officials say the change is meant to better protect American workers’ wages, working conditions and job opportunities.
Under the new rule, visas will no longer be chosen purely at random. Instead, applicants with higher skills and higher pay offers will have a better chance of being selected. DHS said the current system has been abused by some employers seeking to hire lower-paid foreign workers instead of Americans.
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“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 Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
He said the new weighted selection system is intended to match Congress’ original goal for the program and encourage employers to seek highly skilled workers who are paid more. DHS also said the change will help strengthen the U.S. economy while limiting harm to American workers.
Each year, the federal government issues 65,000 H-1B visas, with an additional 20,000 reserved for foreign workers who hold advanced degrees from U.S. universities. Demand for the visas far exceeds the supply, which led to the use of a random lottery system in recent years.
Critics of the lottery have argued that it allowed employers to flood the system with applications for lower-skilled workers at lower wages, reducing opportunities for U.S. workers. DHS said the new rule is designed to address those concerns while still allowing employers to hire foreign workers at all wage levels.
The department said the weighted system will increase the likelihood that visas go to higher-paid and higher-skilled applicants, rather than simply picking winners by chance.
The final rule will take effect Feb. 27, 2026, and will apply to the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap registration season.
DHS described the rule as part of a broader effort to tighten oversight of the H-1B program. It follows other changes made by the administration, including a presidential proclamation that requires employers to pay an additional $100,000 fee for each H-1B 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 aliens so as not to undercut American workers and to put America first,” Tragesser said.
The department said more information is available in the final rule outlining the changes to the program.