Washington: The United States will phase out its decades-old H-1B visa lottery system and replace it with a new selection model that gives preference to higher-paid and more highly skilled foreign workers, a move that is expected to significantly alter how employment-based visas are awarded.
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the revised process will come into force on February 27, 2026, and will apply to the fiscal year 2027 H-1B registration cycle. Under the new framework, visas will no longer be distributed randomly. Instead, applications will be ranked using a weighted system that increases the likelihood of approval for workers offered higher salaries.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the change is intended to curb misuse of the programme. Officials argue that the lottery system allowed some employers to hire overseas workers at lower wages, undercutting American labour. “The random selection process was vulnerable to exploitation,” a USCIS spokesperson said, adding that the updated approach aims to better protect domestic workers.
The reform is part of a broader overhaul of immigration policy under President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, his administration introduced a requirement for employers to pay an additional $100,000 per H-1B visa, a measure that is currently facing legal challenges. The White House has also unveiled a separate “gold card” initiative, offering wealthy individuals a fast-track route to US residency in exchange for a substantial financial contribution.
The H-1B programme plays a major role in staffing US technology firms, hospitals and research institutions. Professionals from India make up one of the largest groups of beneficiaries, particularly in fields such as information technology, engineering and medicine. However, experts say the new pay-focused criteria could disadvantage younger professionals and recent graduates, who typically command lower salaries despite having in-demand skills.
At present, the programme issues 65,000 standard H-1B visas each year, along with an additional 20,000 reserved for applicants holding a US master’s degree or higher. Demand routinely far exceeds supply, leading to the lottery system that the government is now set to discard.
Large corporations have historically dominated approvals. In recent years, companies such as Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Apple and Google have secured thousands of visas, with California hosting the highest concentration of H-1B workers nationwide.
Supporters of the visa programme maintain that it fuels innovation and helps fill critical gaps in specialised sectors, including healthcare and education. Critics counter that the system has often been used to fill junior roles, enabling companies to keep wages down by classifying positions at lower skill levels.
With the shift to a weighted selection model, the US government says it is seeking to refocus the programme on top-tier talent. The full impact of the change, particularly on international applicants from countries like India, is expected to become clearer as the new rules take effect.
