US Announces New H-1B Rules: The Department of Homeland Security has modified the H-1 B work visa selection process. The biggest impact of the new selection process of H-1B visas will be felt by the low-skilled and lower-paid foreign workers.
Starting February 27, 2026, and applicable for the FY 2027 H-1B cap registration season, the H-1B lottery system will be replaced with a new process that will prioritize foreign workers with higher skills and higher wages.
The rules governing how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will choose H-1B registrations for the FY 2027 cap season petitions have been updated by the Department of Homeland Security and is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2025.
New Wage-Based Selection Process
The new rule replaces the random lottery for selecting visa recipients with a process that gives greater weight to those with higher skills. The weighted selection process is expected to favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign workers, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage
levels.
New H-1B Wage Levels
There will be a four-level wage system for H-1B positions, based on the worker’s experience and job requirements. Level 1 wages are for new entry-level workers, Level 2 for experienced workers, Level 3 for fully competent professionals, and Level 4 for experts or senior-level professionals.
Impact of New Rule
DHS projects, based on the weighted selection process, that the probability of being selected to file an H-1B cap-subject petition will be allocated more to levels II, III, and IV, and less to level I.
In FY 2024, the average annual salary for wage level I is $85,006, for wage level II is $103,071, for wage level III is $131,454, and for wage level IV is $162,528.
Therefore, DHS estimates that the percentage change in probability of being selected to file an H-1B cap-subject petition from the current to the new process will decrease by 48 percent for level I and will increase by 3 percent, 55 percent, and 107 percent for level II, level III, and level IV, respectively.
By implementing a weighting system based on wage levels for H-1B registrations, DHS aims to prioritize the issuance of initial visas and status grants to higher-skilled or higher-paid beneficiaries, thereby facilitating the admission of more skilled workers.
Effectively, from the FY 2027 H-1B cap registration season, there will be two new rules applicable to H-1B visas: the new Wage-Based Selection Process and the new $100,000 H-1B petition fee.