The Trump administration plans to significantly reform the H-1B lottery system, prioritizing high salaries and high skills, industry insiders: facing legal challenges

The Trump administration is proposing significant adjustments to the selection process for the H-1B visa, which is widely used in the tech industry, changing the allocation criteria from the current random lottery to one based on the skill level required for the position and the wage level offered.

According to CCTV News, on September 23 local time, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in the Federal Register that the Trump administration plans to adjust the H-1B visa application process, proposing to introduce a weighted selection mechanism that prioritizes applicants with higher skill levels and better salary offers in the annual quota lottery. This rule will be officially announced on September 24.

According to the announcement, this move will make it more likely for H-1B applicants with higher wage levels to be selected, thereby increasing employers' opportunities to bring in foreign talent for high-skill positions. The announcement emphasized that there are limits on the number of H-1B visas and exemption clauses, but in the context of high demand, the government has the authority to improve efficiency through process enhancements.

The aforementioned proposal is the latest effort by Trump to reform the H-1B program. The H-1B visa has been a focal point of controversy among conservatives, with critics arguing that its beneficiaries displace American workers. The proposal will not allocate visas solely based on the highest wages but will categorize each potential employee into four wage levels based on a survey by the U.S. Department of Labor:

Their chances of being selected will be based on the assigned wage level. Employees in the highest wage level, with an average annual income of approximately $162,528, will have four chances to enter the lottery pool; while those in the lowest level will only have one chance.

The proposal states that this process will favor the allocation of H-1B visas to foreigners with higher skills and higher salaries while still allowing employers to hire H-1B employees at all wage levels.

In the initial months of his administration, Trump focused on large-scale deportation efforts and is now seeking significant reforms to employment-based visa programs.

Late last week, the White House issued an announcement stating that new H-1B applications must pay a fee of $100,000 as a condition for entering the U.S. This announcement initially caused panic among employers and employees, but the government clarified that the fee only applies to new applications. This fee took effect on September 21.

The U.S. H-1B visa program is limited to 85,000 new slots each year, with higher education and research organizations exempt from this cap. Employers selected in the annual lottery can continue to submit formal applications.

The H-1B regulations finalized at the end of Trump's first term, but later rescinded by President Biden, originally planned to prioritize H-1B selections based on four wage standards to prevent employers from using these visas to fill low-wage, low-skill positions. The U.S. Department of Labor also attempted to tighten the scope of occupations that meet the "specialty occupation visa" requirements and proposed other regulatory reforms as part of the "Made in America, Hired in America" agenda Some business groups warn that Trump's first wage-based proposal will cause employers to lose the opportunity to hire junior professionals who have just graduated from U.S. colleges. They also oppose using the Department of Labor's wage standards as a proxy indicator for measuring employee skill levels.

However, industry insiders point out that the $100,000 H-1B fee and the new wage-based visa allocation process may face legal challenges. Many lawyers warn that regardless of whether linking H-1B selection to wages is reasonable, this proposal is not legal, as the Immigration and Nationality Act stipulates that visas should be issued in the order applications are received.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reformed the lottery process last year, ensuring that each sponsored employee has an equal chance of being selected, regardless of how many employers submit registrations on their behalf. This move was prompted by the discovery that some employers might manipulate the lottery system by colluding to submit multiple applications unrelated to actual job positions, resulting in a surge in registration numbers