H-1B visa lottery system over! Trump administration’s major overhaul hits professionals, including Indians

The new rule, announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will come into effect on February 27, 2026.

Under the revised framework, the DHS said it will prioritise higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign workers, moving away from the existing random lottery system used when applications exceed the annual cap.

Currently, the United States issues 65,000 H-1B visas annually, with an additional 20,000 visas reserved for applicants holding advanced degrees from U.S. institutions.

The department said the existing “random selection process” has drawn criticism for “allowing unscrupulous employers to exploit it.”

“To address these concerns, the final rule will implement a weighted selection process that will increase the probability that H-1B visas are allocated to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels,” the department said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying: “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.”

The H-1B overhaul is part of a broader push by the current administration to tighten immigration rules across employment and diversity pathways, aligning with campaign themes centred on economic protectionism and labour prioritisation.

In addition, the administration has imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B applications, a sharp increase from earlier costs. A U.S. federal judge has rejected a legal challenge by business groups, allowing the fee to remain in force.