H-1B Lottery May End as Trump Proposes New Set of Rules

The US has proposed amendments to the H-1B visa program shortly after President Trump signed a proclamation to limit it. The Department of Homeland Security aims to replace the lottery system with a weighted process that favors higher-skilled, higher-paid applicants, while still allowing employers to hire across all wage levels. 

Under the new rules, workers earning at the highest wage tier of $162,528 would get four entries in the lottery, whereas lower-paid workers would have fewer. Immigration attorney Nicole Gunara explained that this change could shift the global talent flow, benefiting established firms that can afford to pay top wages and disadvantaging startups and emerging companies that rely on international talent.

The system would favor senior, higher-paid workers, improving the chances for those in top wage categories but making opportunities scarcer for recent graduates or junior workers. Last week, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee for new applications, aiming to discourage companies from exploiting the system and suppressing wages, while ensuring high-skilled foreign workers can still be recruited. Trump emphasized the goal of prioritizing American workers. Notably, Indians comprise 71% of approved H-1B applications.

Also Read: Experts Warn About the Consequences of H-1B Visa Fee Hike

Critics, including White House staff secretary Will Scharf, label the program as heavily abused. Indian IT giants like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro depend heavily on H-1B visas; the new fee could lead to reduced hiring or job shifts back to India. This policy shift occurs amid visits by Indian officials, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, to the US to discuss bilateral cooperation.