US Overhauls H-1B Visa to Favor High-Skilled, Top Earners

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December 26, 2025 | 11:55 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States (US) Department of Homeland Security plans to change the rules for the H-1B work visa program. The US will replace the long-standing random lottery with a weighted selection process. This new system is designed to prioritize foreign workers who possess higher skills and earn higher incomes.

An official stated on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, that these changes aim to protect the wages and job opportunities of American workers. The government wants to align the program more closely with the original intent of Congress.

"The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers," said US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Matthew Tragesser, in a statement quoted from Anadolu.

"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," he said.

Under current law, the H-1B program is limited to 65,000 visas per year. An additional 20,000 visas are set aside for applicants with advanced degrees from US schools. Because demand usually exceeds this supply, the government has relied on a lottery to choose winners.

The latest move aims to fix these issues by increasing the chances for high-skilled workers to get visas. Officials say the change will still allow companies to hire at various wage levels, but it will favor the top tier.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that the new system will take effect on February 27, 2026. It will apply to the H-1B quota registration for the 2027 fiscal year.

This change is part of a larger government effort to tighten oversight of the H-1B program. The statement noted previous actions, including a presidential proclamation requiring employers to pay higher fees as a qualification.

"As part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to H-1B reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and aliens so as not to undercut American workers and to put America first," said Tragesser.

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