H-1B Lottery Process Opens March 4 With New Weighted Selection

Jan. 30, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC

US employers can enter workers in the annual H-1B lottery from March 4-19, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday, the first time odds of selection will be weighted based on wages and seniority.

USCIS finalized regulations in December that will give workers greater chances of selection for 85,000 H-1B slots according to which of four wage levels they’re assigned to. The Trump administration has said the rule will prioritize the most high skilled and highly paid foreign workers.

Workers selected through the fiscal year 2027 cap process will be also be subject to a $100,000 fee if hired from outside the US. The charge, issued in September via presidential proclamation, does not apply to workers already in the US on another status.

Employers exempt from the annual H-1B cap are already subject to the fee, which has been challenged in multiple lawsuits.


To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Kreighbaum in Washington at akreighbaum@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jay-Anne B. Casuga at jcasuga@bloomberglaw.com

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