The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced a new H-1B visa selection system last year. The department then replaced the random lottery system for H-1B visa selection with a new wage-weighted model. According to a Bloomberg Law report, US businesses saw selection rates jump to “unseen levels” for high-skilled foreign workers this year. The report cited data from multiple immigration firms with many stating selection rates of over 50% across the board in some cases, compared to one in three selection chances in previous years. The BL report quotes Kelli Duehning, partner at business immigration law firm BAL who said that selection rates exceeded 60% from some clients. “The $100,000 fee was really, it felt like, the big delta,” she said. “That six-figure fee had already blocked almost all international recruiting through the program by universities and hospitals. It’s led tech firms and other companies subject to an annual visa cap to also opt out of hiring from abroad, which accounted for four in 10 new H-1B employees in recent years. But it was a boon to workers already in the US whose companies opted to enter them in the annual visa lottery,” the report stated.Last year in September, Trump administration introduced a $1,00,000 registration fee for H-1B visa applicants. Immigration firms told Bloomberg that the winning chances were higher this year as the selection pool was smaller due to the $100K fee.While the $100,000 fee proclamation likely had the biggest impact on the lottery, shifting labor markets and rapidly changing policies governing the program were also factors in shaping the pool of lottery entries, the report said.
Changes to H-1B visa selection system
The H-1B visa system is set to change from a random lottery to a new selection method. Earlier, visas were given through a lottery because the number of applicants was much higher than the yearly limit of 85,000.Under the new rule, visas will no longer be given purely by chance. Instead, applications will be ranked based on salary levels set by the US Department of Labor. This means applicants with higher salary offers will have a better chance of getting selected.The new system will come into effect from February 27, 2026, before the next round of H-1B registrations begins.
