Trump administration proposes to scrap H-1B visa lottery system, replace it with wage-based selection process

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The Trump administration has proposed a major overhaul of the H-1B visa allocation process, seeking to amend the existential lottery system and prioritise higher-skilled and better-paid workers.

The new proposal by the Department of Homeland Security aims at implementing "a weighted selection process that would generally favour the allocation of H-1B visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels".

The move follows a White House proclamation on Friday introducing a $100,000 fee for fresh H-1B visa applications, an unprecedented increase from the earlier fee range of $215-$5,000, depending on the company size.

The new process, if finalised, would give heavier weight to applications by employers who pay high wages if annual requests for the visas exceed the statutory limit of 85,000, the notice said as quoted by Reuters. The move aims to better protect Americans from unfair wage competition from foreign workers, it said.

Trump launched a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January, including a push for mass deportations and trying to block citizenship for children of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. In recent days, his administration intensified its focus on the H-1B program, popular with tech and outsourcing companies for hiring skilled foreign workers.

The Trump administration said on Friday it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B visas. Some big tech companies warned visa holders to stay in the U.S. or quickly return, sparking a chaotic scramble to get back to the U.S. The White House later clarified that the fee would apply only to new visas.

The process to finalize a regulation can take months or even years. The notice suggested that the new rules could be in place for the 2026 lottery, meaning before a March registration period.

Trump, a Republican, sought to reshape the H-1B process during his 2017-2021 presidency, but was stymied by federal courts and limited time at the end of his presidency.

A similar regulation that aimed to shift the lottery process toward higher-paid applicants was delayed by Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, before it could go into effect in March 2021. It was then blocked by a federal judge in September 2021 and withdrawn by the Biden administration three months later.