The United States is preparing one of the biggest changes to the H-1B visa system in years. If you’ve followed the annual lottery frustrations, here’s the thing: the familiar randomness is fading out. A new weighted selection process will take over in February 2026, reshaping how skilled foreign workers are chosen.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to completely rethink the way H-1B visas are allocated. Instead of giving every registration an equal shot, the system will now boost the chances of applicants whose roles demand stronger expertise and come with higher wages.
The idea is simple. If a job requires great skill and the employer is offering competitive pay, that registration should carry more weight. DHS argues this approach better reflects the original purpose of the H-1B program and protects opportunities for U.S. workers.
For years, critics pointed to a pattern. Some employers flooded the lottery with registrations tied to low-wage positions, hoping sheer volume would secure enough approvals. This made the program open to misuse and shifted the focus away from the skilled workers it was intended to attract.
USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser did not mince words. He said the random lottery had been exploited by companies looking to import lower-paid workers. The new rule, he explained, nudges the program back toward fairness while rewarding employers who genuinely need specialised talent.
The H-1B visa cap itself stays the same.
What changes is the path to getting selected. Weighted selection means the probability shifts in favour of higher-paid, higher-skilled petitions. Lower-wage roles can still be selected, but they won’t dominate the pool the way they sometimes did under the lottery system.
The regulation is scheduled to take effect on 27 February 2026. This timing is deliberate so that the new system is in place for the fiscal year 2027 H-1 B cap registration season, which typically runs in March for jobs starting from October 1 of that year.
This isn’t happening in isolation. The administration has already introduced tougher requirements, including a new Presidential Proclamation that requires employers to pay an additional $ 100,000 per visa as part of the eligibility.
The message is clear: the government expects employers to value H-1B workers highly and to avoid practices that depress U.S. wages.
Tragesser said the administration plans to keep raising standards for both employers and foreign workers. The stated goal is to strengthen the program’s integrity and ensure it supports American labour interests.
If you’re an employer, hiring under the H-1B cap will likely demand stronger justification, higher salaries and roles that clearly require specialised skills. If you’re a foreign worker, your odds may improve if your role falls into higher wage or speciality tiers.
In short, the program is shifting toward quality over quantity.
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