New Delhi: The United States has announced sweeping changes to the H-1B visa programme for foreign workers. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled a proposed “Weighted Selection Process” aimed at prioritising higher-paid and higher-skilled foreign employees.
The H-1B lottery for 2027 is set to be drastically different. Employers now face a $100,000 petition fee per worker. The new proposal further changes the visa selection mechanism.
The DHS published the proposal, titled ‘Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking to File Cap Subject H-1B Petitions’, in the Federal Register on September 24, 2025. Public comments and feedback have been invited.
The objective is higher-skilled and higher-wage positions get preference. Lower-paying jobs and positions with fewer skill requirements may see reduced chances of securing visas.
Existing Process
At present, employers register electronically for each foreign worker they intend to hire. If selected randomly in the H-1B lottery, employers can file cap-subject petitions.
The lottery is purely random. Beneficiaries are foreign employees, and petitioners are US companies.
Weighted Selection
Under the proposed system, the lottery moves from random selection to weighted selection. Employers offering higher wages or hiring for higher-skilled positions receive an advantage. Wage levels, defined by the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), determine ranking.
Workers at OEWS wage Level IV get four entries in the H-1B selection pool, Level III three, Level II two and Level I one. Each worker counts only once toward visa allocation, no matter how many entries they have.
The proffered wage, or the wage the employer intends to pay, is the primary factor in ranking. The goal is to allocate limited visas to higher-skilled and higher-value positions.
Impact On H-1B Programme
The H-1B programme issues 85,000 visas annually, including 20,000 reserved for holders of advanced U.S. degrees. The weighted system favours higher-wage and higher-skilled employees. Lower-paying or lower-skill positions may no longer secure visas easily.
The $100,000 petition fee adds another hurdle. Employers will now weigh the cost of filing against potential talent needs.
Both the fee and the weighted selection process are expected to reshape the H-1B landscape starting with the 2027 visa season. American companies and foreign professionals face a fundamentally altered path to employment in the United States.