A proposed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule to replace the H-1B visa lottery with a weighted selection system has cleared a key review by the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
The new process would prioritize foreign professionals based on criteria such as higher wages or advanced education levels, shifting away from the current random lottery system used to allocate the coveted work visas.
The H-1B program is a critical talent pipeline for U.S. employers, particularly in the technology sector, providing access to tens of thousands of workers in specialized fields like engineering and computer science. By moving to a merit-based system, the change could incentivize companies to offer higher salaries or adjust recruitment strategies to secure top candidates from the global talent pool. The program is subject to an annual cap of 85,000 visas, making the selection process highly competitive.
With OIRA’s approval, the next step is the publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register. This will initiate a public comment period, typically lasting 30 to 60 days, before the rule can proceed toward final implementation.
This proposal echoes a similar effort during the Trump administration, which sought to rank H-1B petitions by wage levels. That plan was ultimately withdrawn by the Biden administration after facing legal challenges.
Proponents of a weighted system, such as the nonpartisan think tank Institute for Progress, argue that selecting applicants based on factors like salary could substantially increase the economic value generated by the visa program.
However, the H-1B program has faced growing scrutiny over claims that it displaces American workers. For instance, Microsoft has drawn criticism for requesting thousands of H-1B visas in the last fiscal year while also conducting significant layoffs. The company, which had all 9,491 of its H-1B applications approved, has laid off nearly 16,000 of its 228,000 global employees this year.
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