H-1B Visa Weighted Selection Regulation Released by DHS (2)

The Trump administration released a rule Tuesday replacing the randomized lottery for H-1B visas with a selection process favoring highly-paid workers.

The rule will take effect Feb. 27, meaning the new framework will be in place before the annual spring lottery for the specialty occupation visas heavily used by the tech sector.

It’s part of a larger Trump agenda for the H-1B program that aims to block visas from going to lower-paid jobs. Most notably, a White House proclamation added a $100,000 fee for H-1B workers hired from outside the US that’s now facing multiple legal challenges.

“The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers,” Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a statement.

The annual lottery for 85,000 H-1B visa slots will be replaced—including 20,000 reserved for workers who hold at least a master’s degree—with a selection process that gives workers greater odds based on where they fall in four wage levels. Workers would be entered into the selection pool four times if assigned to the highest wage level, three times if in the third wage level, twice in the next wage level, and only once if assigned to the lowest wage band.

The rule released Tuesday doesn’t make substantial changes from draft regulations released in September. Employer groups and think tanks warned USCIS that the proposal (RIN 1615-AD01) would undercut the administration’s intended goal of prioritizing the most economically valuable workers.

Wage levels are different from actual wages, the groups said in public comments on the proposed rule, because they reflect relative seniority within a field and not actual pay. Many H-1B workers earn more than most Americans but would fall within lower wage levels for their occupation. DHS responded that the rule was not intended to favor any company or industry better or worse than others.