H1B Weighted Selection Process Final Rule – Effective FY 2027 Season

The Trump Administration continues to publish more and more stringent regulations to reduce the abuse of the H1B program. Initially, they started with the $100K fee for new H1B holders outside of US. Also, the proclamation tied to the $100K fee also had instructions to change the H1B lottery selection process to prioritize higher wage workers.

To prioritize higher-wage workers, in September 2025 the US Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would change the H-1 B lottery selection process from random to weighted. Today, they published a final rule inspection copy in the Federal Register; it will be officially published on December 29th, 2025.

In this article, we will review the background, what is changing in the lottery selection process, when it will be effective, the odds of selection, how the overall process would work, and other common FAQs.

This is a final rule set to be published in the Federal Register. It will be effective for H1B Visa FY 2027 season, unless there is a lawsuit filed and courts give an injunction.

Why is DHS changing the H1B Lottery Selection Process?

DHS says that the main reason the Trump Administration is trying to change the H1B lottery selection process is to address the systematic abuse of the H1B Program. They believe that the final rule that changes the H1B Lottery selection process will help meet the original goals of the H1B program to attract highly skilled workers with higher wages and protect American workers.

Below is the screenshot from the final rule document that highlights the reason for change in H1B Lottery selection process:

Background: Wage Levels-based H1B Registration Selection Process.

The final rule published by the Trump administration will change the H1B lottery selection process, which is part of the current H1B Registration Process. Below is a brief background on how it all started:

• First Term of Trump Administration, Wage-Based Lottery: Back in November 2020, during the first term of the Trump administration, they proposed a regulation to change the H1B Lottery selection process to be based on Wage Levels. Read more at H1B Lottery Selection based on Wage Levels DHS published a final regulation of the same on Jan 7th, 2021, with an effective date of March 9th, 2021.
  • The main idea in that final regulation from 2021 was to rank the H1B registrations based on the wage levels and then select the highest wage H1B registrations in the H1B lottery selection process. Only the highest level (Level IV) registrations would have been picked, leaving out Wage Level I and Wage Level II folks completely.
    • Read more at DHS Final Rule – H1B Lottery to be based on Wage Levels
• Biden Administration – Court Battle, Withdrawal: After the Biden administration took office in 2021, it moved the effective date of the lottery selection process change rule to December 31, 2021. Finally, USCIS withdrew the same rule in December 2021 after losing a court battle.
• Second Term of Trump Administration, Proposed Rule Weighted Lottery Selection: The current H1B weighted selection process was part of the proposed rule, which is a variant of the previous wage-based lottery selection process with more priority for higher wage workers and less priority for lower wage workers during the H1B lottery selection process. It completed the notice and comment period and now published as a final rule.

Let’s look at the final rule details and what has changed, and what is intact.

No changes from the H1B Weighed Selection Process Proposed Rule

In total, there were about 2,731 Comments that were submitted by various users and organizations related to the H1B weighted selection process. The final rule is a 303-page document and has responses to address all those comments. They are all grouped into sections depending on the issue, comment, or concern raised.

DHS did not make any changes to their original proposed rule text and is published as it appeared in the proposed rule. No feedback or alternatives from users or organizations was considered by DHS to make any changes. Below is the screenshot from the final rule text that confirms the same.

Final Rule Summary: Wage-Based Weighted Selection Process for H1B Lottery

DHS stuck to its philosophy, saying that a higher salary is a reliable indicator of higher skill. They say that, as H1B visas are for high-skilled workers, to get high-skilled workers, they want to use the salaries of H1B workers to select the highest-skilled workers.

Below are the key changes that are in the final rule:

H1B Weighted Selection Process based on Wage Levels

Under the final rule, each H1B applicant would be assigned a weight based on the H-1 B wage level they submitted. USCIS would conduct a lottery multiple times so that the highest-wage-level applicant receives the most chances. Below is how the lottery chances look:

• An applicant with Wage Level IV would get four chances to be part of the H1B lottery
• An applicant with Wage Level III would get three chances to be part of the H1B lottery
• An applicant with Wage Level II would get two chances to be part of the H1B lottery
• An applicant with Wage Level I would get one chance to be part of the H1B lottery
• This weighted lottery run multiple times is applicable for both the Regular quota and the Masters quota applicants.

For more info, you can read H1B Prevailing Wage Levels – How they are set up.

Below is the screenshot of the actual final regulation text confirming the above:

Submit Wage Level, Location and SOC Code during H1B Registration

As part of the final rule, DHS has also made it mandatory to submit the below three things as part of the H1B registration submission process:

• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Wage Level for H1B Position
• Standard Occupational Classification(SOC) Code for H1B Position
• Area of intended employment for the H1B worker.

DHS needs this information to run the wage-based weighted selection process. Below is the screenshot of the actual final regulation text that confirms the same:

Lower Wage Levels Changes are not allowed in the Future

DHS clearly mentions that they may deny a petition by the employer if they try to change the wage levels for a new or amended petition to a lower wage level. This is to avoid anyone trying to fraud the system by submitting a higher wage level during lottery selection and changing it in the future after the initial petition was approved. Below is the screenshot of the actual regulation text confirming the same:

Guidance on Multiple Locations, Lack of Wage Levels

• Multiple Locations H1B Job: As per the DHS final rule, if the applicant’s LCA is listed to work at multiple job locations, then the employer must pick the lowest job level for the same salary across all locations. This ensures that they do not abuse the system by listing the job at a higher wage level in a remote location.
• No Wage Level Data: If there is no OEWS wage level data for some SOC codes, then DHS suggests following the practices of prevailing wage determination(PWD) to select the appropriate wage level.
• If the H1B registration/lottery is cancelled in a year for any reason, the same process logic will apply to H1B Petitions.

Changes to Lottery Selection Chances with Weighted Selection

As per the final rule, with the implementation of the wage level based weighted selection process, the probabilty of selection has doubled for Level IV wage workers and for Level III wage workers it has gone up by 50%.

Below is the screenshot of the probability of selection table from the final regulation text that highlights the changes and its impact with new weighted wage based selection:

How will the H1B Weighted Selection Process work?

As per the final regulation text, below is how the H1B weighted selection process will work:

• Step 1 – Employer Submits Wage Levels, Location, SOC Code: Employers would submit the wage level details, location and SOC code for the H1B position during the H1B registration period:
• Step 2 – Lottery Selection for Regular Cap Based on Wage Levels Weights Multiple Times: Similar to the current steps, DHS will first conduct a lottery as per the applicants’ wage levels to select the registrations to meet the 65,000 regular quota cap.
  • Wage level IV will get four chances to be part of the H1B lottery
  • Wage Level III applicants will get three chances to be part of the H1B lottery
  • Wage Level II applicants will get two chances to be part of the H1B lottery
  • Wage Level I applicants will get one chance to be part of the H1B lottery
  • The unselected regular quota applicants will go to the reserve pool for future lotteries.
  • The unselected master’s quota registrations are added to the master’s quota lottery.
  • They have not outlined how they will actually do the lottery to have four chances for level IV workers or three chances for level III workers, and so on.
• Step 3 – H1B Lottery for US Masters Cap Based on Wage Levels Weights Multiple Times: After the above setp, the H1B lottery would be done for the US Masters quota cap. USCIS will conduct a similar lottery as per the applicants’ wage levels to select the registrations to meet the 20,000 Masters quota cap.
  • Wage level IV will get four chances to be part of the H1B lottery
  • Wage Level III applicants will get three chances to be part of the H1B lottery
  • Wage Level II applicants will get two chances to be part of the H1B lottery
  • Wage Level I applicants will get one chance to be part of the H1B lottery
  • The unselected master quota applicants will go to the pool for future H1B lotteries.
• Step 4 – Employers to Submit H1B petitions with same Wage Levels, SOC Code, Location: Employers of the selected applicants in the H1B Lottery would be notified of the selections and they can file the H1B Petition for the applicant.
  • To ensure compliance, USCIS will closely review the Wage Level, Salary, Location, and SOC Code of the H1B registration with the petition, if they match.
  • If there is a mismatch, they will send a denial notice as the wage levels and details have changed.
• Step 5 – No Changes to Wage Levels for Future Amendments, Extensions: In the future for amendments or extensions, USCIS will keep a close watch on the Wage Levels, Salaries, Location and SOC Code for the applicants so that employers do not take advantage of the loopholes by changing them to lower levels, lower wages or locations with lower wages and higher wage levels to game the system. If they find any violations, they would revoke the H1B Petition for fraud.

Effective Date for H1B Weighted Selection Final Rule

The final rule that changes the H1B Lottery selection process would be effective in 60 days from the official publication date of December 29, 2025. The official effective date would be February 27th, 2026.

The effective date would be right on time for the FY 2027 season. As the H1B visa FY 2027 registration starts in March 2026, it will be applicable to the same. Below is the screenshot of the same from the final rule regulatory text.

Common FAQs

What do you think of the Wage Level-based H1B Weighted Selection Lottery process? Do you think there will be lawsuits? Will it be effective to combat fraud? Share your thoughts in the comments section below:

References:

• Official Link: Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions
• PDF File – Public Inspection: You can read the PDF for Public Inspection of the same