US H-1B Visa Rules Overhauled: New Weighted System Favors High-Skilled, High-Paid Applicants
The US Department of Homeland Security has introduced a significant rule change to the H-1B visa program, fundamentally altering how registrations are selected. Announced on December 23, this new regulation replaces the traditional random lottery with a weighted system that prioritizes higher-skilled and higher-paid applicants. The rule officially took effect on February 27, 2026, and will apply to the Fiscal Year 2027 H-1B cap registration season, marking a pivotal shift in US immigration policy aimed at attracting top global talent.
New Weighted Selection Process
Under the new regulation, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement a weighted selection system instead of relying entirely on a random lottery when choosing H-1B registrations. This innovative approach gives preference to higher wage levels, meaning applicants offered higher salaries will have greater chances of being selected. The primary aim is to favor highly skilled workers while still maintaining opportunities for employers to hire H-1B workers across different wage levels, ensuring a balanced and merit-based immigration framework.
Employers registering H-1B candidates will now need to provide the highest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level that the worker’s offered salary meets or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code in the intended area of employment. If USCIS determines that the number of registrations exceeds the annual cap and a selection process is required, the agency will conduct a weighted selection based primarily on the wage level associated with the job offer, thereby incentivizing competitive compensation packages.
Electronic Registration Requirement
As in previous years, employers must first complete an electronic registration process before filing an H-1B cap-subject petition. Prospective petitioners, also known as registrants, must submit an online registration through their USCIS account for each beneficiary and pay the required $215 registration fee per candidate. This streamlined electronic registration process has been initiated to simplify procedures, minimize paperwork, and decrease costs for employers that wish to recruit foreign workers, enhancing efficiency in the immigration system.
Only employers whose registrations are selected during the process will be allowed to submit full H-1B petitions for the beneficiaries they registered. This ensures that only the most qualified candidates proceed to the next stage, reducing administrative burdens and focusing resources on high-potential applicants.
FY 2027 H-1B Registration Period
The registration period for the FY 2027 H-1B cap season will commence from 12:00 pm Eastern Time on March 4, 2026, and continue until 12:00 pm Eastern Time on March 19, 2026. During this period, employers and representatives are required to register beneficiaries and pay the required fee. USCIS has clarified that there is no need to submit the registration on the first day, as the selection process will commence only after the registration period ends, allowing ample time for submissions.
The selection process starts once the initial registration period is over. If a beneficiary is selected, each registrant who submitted a registration for that individual will receive a selection notice and will be eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition on their behalf, ensuring transparency and fairness in the allocation of visas.
Decline in Registrations for FY 2026
Data released by USCIS shows that the number of H-1B registrations for the FY 2026 cap season has declined compared to the previous year. Approximately 57,600 unique employers submitted registrations for FY 2026, slightly higher than the roughly 52,700 employers in FY 2025. However, the number of eligible unique beneficiaries fell sharply to about 339,000, compared to around 442,000 in FY 2025.
Likewise, the total number of eligible registrations was reduced to 343,981, from the previous year's total of 470,342, showing a reduction of 26.9 percent. There was, reportedly, an average of 1.01 registrations per beneficiary this year for FY 2026, which was around 1.06 for FY 2025. This means, on average, each beneficiary only had approximately one registration submitted on their behalf. The changes in the selection process are likely to continue the evolution of the H-1B system by placing more emphasis on wages, with the same cap and registration process, potentially leading to further adjustments in future immigration trends.
