Since the Trump Administration took office for its second term, its focus has been on tightening the H1B program to prevent fraud and modifying it to protect American Jobs. Last week, there was chaos with Trump signing a proclamation adding a $100K fee for new H1B holders outside of US. Later, USCIS and CBP gave clarifications indicating it applies to new petitions after the effective date of the proclamation.
Today, they published the proposed rule text for the H1B weighted selection process rule, which was cleared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 8, 2025.
This is a proposed rule published in the Federal Register and is going through the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking(NPRM) process. It is not a final rule and can change based on public feedback.
In this article, we will review the background for this, describe the H1B weighted selection process as outlined in the proposed rule, explain how it will work, discuss the measures in place to prevent fraud, and outline what to expect next.
Background: H1B Registration Selection based on Wage Levels
The current proposed rule by the Trump administration is trying to change the H1B lottery selection process, which is part of the current H1B Registration Process. Below is a brief background on what has happened in the past around this same topic:
- During the first term of the Trump administration, in November 2020, a proposed regulation was published by them to change the H1B Lottery selection process to be based on Wage Levels. Read more at H1B Lottery Selection based on Wage Levels
- After the public comments, DHS published a final regulation of the same on Jan 7th, 2021, with an effective date of March 9th, 2021.
- The main idea in the H1B lottery process was to rank the H1B registrations based on the wage levels and then select the highest wage H1B registrations. The main issue was with the demand; 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
- 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.
The current H1B weighted selection process in the proposed rule 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.
Let’s dive in and look at the details.
Key Idea behind the H1B Weighted Selection Process
Below are the various aspects around the key idea that the current H1B weighted lottery selection process is based on:
- Higher Salary Means Higher Skill: According to the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a higher salary is a reliable indicator of higher skill. They quote references to some examples and studies to support that claim. As H1B visas are for high-skilled workers, employers want to use the salaries of H1B workers to select the highest-skilled workers.
Below is the screenshot of the highlighted exact piece of text from the proposed rule published in the Federal Register:
- Problem with Ranking Approach in 2021 H1B Wage Based Selection: Also, they say that, back in 2021, their approach was not optimal, where they would sort the applicants based on the highest wage level and pick the highest-paid applicants in the H1B lottery, as some of the lower wage workers, who may be high-skilled, did not have an opportunity or were left out due to the high demand.
- Weighted Selection, instead of Ranking: Now, in the current proposed rule, they are changing that approach to assign a weight to an application based on the Wage Level, rather than a rank. This way all of the applicants will get a shot in the lottery selection process.
Below is the screenshot of the highlighted text from the proposed rule that talks about the change in approach:
- H1B Weighted Selection Process in Proposed Rule: As per the proposed rule, each applicant would be given a weight based on the H1B 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.
Below is the screenshot of the actual text that talks about the weights and how the lottery selection would work as part of the pool:
H1B Weighted Selection Process: How does it work?
In the proposed rule text published in the Federal Register, below is how the H1B weighted selection process would work:
- Step 1 – Submit Wage Levels, Location, SOC Code: Employers, based on the salary they plan to offer for a position/applicant, will submit the following information along with the H1B Registration:
- Wage Level Details: The wage level that will match based on the offered salary for the application, which will be mapped based on the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage levels. You can read more at H1B Prevailing Wage Levels – How they are setup.
- Location: Location of the H1B Job/ position (area of the intended employment)
- SOC Code: The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for the H1B job.
- Step 2 – Lottery for Regular Cap Based on Wage Levels Weights Multiple Times: USCIS will 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 lottery
- Wage Level III applicants will get three chances to be part of the lottery
- Wage Level II applicants will get two chances to be part of the lott.ery
- Wage Level I applicants will get one chance to be part of the lottery
- They have not provided specifics on how they would run these multiple rounds of the lottery for each of the wage levels. We need to see this in the final rule.
- The unselected regular quota applicants will go to the reserve pool for future lotteries.
- Step 3 – Lottery for Masters Cap Based on Wage Levels Weights Multiple Times: Next the lottery would be done for the 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 lottery
- Wage Level III applicants will get three chances to be part of the lottery
- Wage Level II applicants will get two chances to be part of the lott.ery
- Wage Level I applicants will get one chance to be part of the lottery
- They have not provided specifics on how they would run these multiple rounds of the lottery for each of the wage levels. We need to see this in the final rule.
- The unselected master quota applicants will go to the pool for future lotteries.
- Step 4 – Submit H1B petitions with same Wage Levels, SOC Code, Location: Employers of the selected applicants would be notified of the selections and they can file the H1B Petition for the applicant.
- 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 changed.
- If everythig matches with registration and meets the H1B requirements as bona fide job, then they will approve the petition
- Step 5 – Future Amendments, Transfers, Extensions – Avoid Fraud: In the future for amendments, extensions, transfers, 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.
Additional Nuances, Checks
- If the applicant’s LCA will be listed to work at multiple job locations, then employer needs to pick the lowest job level for the same salary across all locations.
- If the H1B registration/lottery is cancelled in a year for whatever reason, the same process logic will apply for the H1B Petitions.
- The proposed rule has similar nuances surrounding each step to prevent employers from abusing the system.
Next Steps for the H1B Weighted Selection Process Rule
The proposed rule for the H1B weighted selection would be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, September 24th, 2025. under the name “Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions”
- Official Link: Weighted Selection Process for H1B Registrations on Federal Register
- PDF File – Public Inspection: You can read the PDF for Public Inspection of the same
There will be a 30-day comment period, during which the public can submit comments on the proposed rule. After that, DHS will review the comments and then make changes as needed and publish a final rule. We may expect to see this as a final rule for the H1B Visa FY 2027 Season.
What do you think of the proposed rule for H1B Lottery Selection based on Wage Levels? Do you think the Weighted approach is fair? Share your thoughts in comments section below:
