The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will apply new rules for allocating H-1B work visas, abandoning the application lottery and focusing on the applicant profile.

“The new rule replaces the random lottery system for selecting beneficiaries "The current random selection process for H-1B visa applications has been exploited and abused by U.S. employers primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay U.S. workers," said DHS in a statement. The agency, headed by Kristi Noem, had already announced the implementation of the new rule, which is now final, according to the Federal Register. USCIS officers will prioritize the allocation of visas to foreign nationals with higher qualifications and better pay. "The current random selection process for H-1B visa applications has been exploited and abused by U.S. employers primarily seeking to import foreign workers at wages lower than those they would pay U.S. workers," said Matthew Tragesser, a USCIS spokesperson. “The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’s intent for the H-1B program and strengthen U.S. competitiveness by incentivizing U.S. employers to seek higher-skilled, better-paid foreign workers.”

Tragesser stated that USCIS will maintain a constant evaluation of the rules for these visas, modifying them as needed “without permitting the abuses that harmed American workers.”

According to official figures, the number of H-1B visas issued annually is limited to 65,000, with an additional 20,000 for holders of U.S. university degrees.

“The current random selection process has frequently been criticized for allowing unscrupulous employers to exploit it, flooding the selection pool with lower-skilled, low-wage foreign workers, to the detriment of the American workforce,” it is alleged.

The new rule, it is stated,It will maintain the opportunity for employers to hire H-1B workers at all salary levels.

The new rule will take effect on February 27, 2026, and will be in effect during the H-1B visa registration season for fiscal year 2027, subject to the maximum number allowed by Congress.

“As part of the Trump administration's commitment to H-1B visa reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and foreign nationals to avoid harming American workers and to prioritize the United States,” Tragesser stated.

The final rule will be published on December 29, according to the Federal Register.

“[The rule] “This will discourage the abuse of the H-1B program to fill relatively lower-paying and less-skilled jobs, which is a major problem in the current H-1B program,” the rule states. The DHS says the rule will apply to applications submitted on or after February 27, while pending applications are evaluated under the current rule.