New Change in US H-1B Visa Rules: High-paying Applicants to be Prioritised to Benefit ‘Most-skilled’ Foreign Workers

The US State Department has declared that the latest H1B visa rules will focus on prioritising higher-paid applicants and strengthen wage requirements in order to ensure the benefit of only the most skilled foreign workers.

Currently, the Trump-led US government is considering additional charges to the H-1B programme, which includes raising wage eligibility thresholds and prioritising highly paid professionals in the visa lottery, Hindustan Times reported. This comes after the introduction of a $100,000 fee for new petitions effective September 21. 

According to a a US State Department FAQ release on the new H-1B visa rules, “(The) further steps that will be taken to reform the H-1B program, as contemplated in the Proclamation, include, rulemaking by the Department of Labor to revise and raise the prevailing wage levels in order to upskill the H-1B program and ensure that it is used to hire only the best of the best temporary foreign workers.”

An advisory by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated that these proposed reforms are expected to further limit high-skilled immigration to the United States.

Indian professionals consist of over 70% of approved H-1B petitions which are likely to be disproportionately affected. The changes will also put additional pressure on Indian IT services companies, the ones that rely heavily on the H-1B programme to deploy engineers to serve overseas clients.

Existing Lottery Rule 

The US companies seeking to hire foreign workers on H1B visas right now, must submit a Labour Condition Application (LCA) to the government. Under this application, the employer agrees to pay the foreign worker the “prevailing wage” for the specific job role.

Calculated by the US Department of Labor, this wage represents the minimum amount a US company should pay to ensure that H-1B workers do not undercut American-born employees, accounting for differences in location and job responsibilities.

Once the LCA gets approved, the foreign worker gets to enter the H-1B visa lottery, which randomly selects approximately 85,000 applications. If selected from the lottery, the US company can proceed with the H-1B application. Currently, the lottery selection is completely random and does not consider the worker’s wage level.

What will be the New Lottery Rule?

According to the new proposals by the USCIS, the motive is to revise this system by increasing the prevailing wage thresholds and modifying the H1B lottery to favour applicants with higher salaries. These modifications are likely to disadvantage entry-level workers, especially the Indian students who are planning to remain in the US after completing their studies.

Speaking to HT, Henry Lindpere, an immigration lawyer at Manifest Law said, “These proposals mirror past efforts to raise prevailing wages, which made H-1B hiring far more costly. If wage levels rise again and the lottery is prioritized by salary, only the highest-paid candidates may stand a real chance. That would narrow the program to elite earners, making it harder for startups, midsize firms, and IT consulting companies to hire needed international talent, especially in areas where shortages are already acute.”

Additionally, the proclamation “requires a $100,000 payment to accompany any new H-1B visa petitions submitted after 12:01 am Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025.”

This is applicable to applications for the 2026 lottery and any other new H-1B filings beyond that date. A White House official told PTI that the $100,000 fee will “first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle.” The fee is a one-time payment required upon submission of a new H-1B petition.