The US Homeland Security will replace the H-1B visa lottery programme with a wage-weighted system from 2026, prioritising higher-paid and higher-skilled applicants while keeping visa caps unchanged to curb abuse and protect American workers.
The US government has decided to replace the longstanding H-1B lottery system programme for visas with a new scheme that ensures that skilled, higher-paid foreign workers are prioritised. The new rule is set to take effect on February 27, 2026, and will apply to the 2027 financial year cap registration season, with registrations expected in March 2026 for jobs starting October 1 that year.
The number of H-1B visas issued annually will remain unchanged, capped at 65,000 under the regular quota, with an additional 20,000 reserved for holders of US advanced degrees.
Under the revised framework, registrations will no longer be picked at random. Instead, they will be weighted by employer and wage level, a move designed to discourage duplicate filings and manipulation of the system. Applications offering higher wages will receive stronger odds of selection, while lower-paid roles will still be eligible but face reduced chances.
The change is particularly significant for Indian applicants, who make up a large share of H-1B approvals each year, and comes as US authorities step up efforts to tighten compliance and curb misuse of employment-based visas.
“On Dec 23, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) announced a final rule to amend regulations governing the process by which USCIS selects H-1B registrations for unique beneficiaries for filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions. The rule implements a weighted selection process that will favor allocating H-1B visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels.This final rule is effective Feb 27, 2026, and will be in place for the FY 2027 H-1B cap registration season,” a statement from the US government read.
The DHS said the rule is intended to strike a balance — tightening protections for US workers while preserving access to foreign professionals in fields such as technology, engineering and healthcare, where demand continues to exceed supply.
According to the department, the change is part of a broader push to reinforce the integrity of the H-1B visa programme by discouraging misuse and tightening eligibility standards. It aligns with other measures introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration, including a presidential proclamation that requires certain employers to pay an additional $100,000 per visa as a condition for participation – which has created a massive stir since the announcement.
“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 Matthew Tragesser, a spokesperson for US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The new system, he said, would “better serve Congress’s intent” and strengthen US competitiveness by incentivising employers to seek higher-skilled talent.
“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, adding that further changes could follow as the system’s impact is reviewed.
The overhaul follows years of criticism that the H-1B lottery had become vulnerable to gaming, with some employers flooding the system with low-wage applications.
Officials said the weighted approach is expected to push companies to rethink hiring strategies, rewarding higher wages and specialised roles while making it harder for low-paid applications to dominate the H-1B pipeline.
