H-1B visa about to get tougher? See how Trump admin plans to change lottery system

Days after US President Donald Trump imposed a sweeping $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, his administration on Tuesday unveiled plans to overhaul how the coveted work visas are awarded.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a weighted lottery system that would give preference to higher-paid and higher-skilled foreign workers.

In a draft regulation released by the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS said it wants to replace the current random selection process for H-1B visas with a system that rewards employers offering higher wages.

The H-1B program allows US companies to hire foreign workers in speciality occupations, and is used heavily by the technology sector, including thousands of Indian IT professionals.

Wage-based selection criteria

Under the proposal, each H-1B registration would be weighted based on the government’s four wage levels.

Petitions offering salaries in the top tier would be entered into the selection pool four times, mid-tier wages two or three times, and the lowest level just once. Employers could still file petitions at all wage levels, but higher pay would increase the odds of selection.

“This proposal would favor the allocation of 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,” DHS said in its notice.

The plan would apply to both the regular H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption.

The announcement comes on the heels of Trump’s September 19 proclamation requiring a $100,000 payment for any new H-1B petition filed after 12:01 am Eastern time on September 21, 2025.

USCIS clarified in a Sunday FAQ that the one-time fee applies to all new filings, including those for the fiscal year 2026 lottery, but does not affect petitions filed before the deadline, renewals, or existing visa holders.

The Trump administration said the fee and the proposed lottery change are part of an “important, initial, and incremental step” to curb what it calls abuses of the H-1B program and to protect American workers.

The $100,000 charge is unprecedented in the history of the visa, which currently carries base filing fees of a few thousand dollars.

If implemented, the pay-based selection system, along with an eye-popping new petition fee, would represent the most sweeping changes to the H-1B program in decades.