On Tuesday, Trump’s administration presented a proposal to revise the H-1B visa selection process, according to the Federal Register notification, it favored higher qualified and better compensated foreign workers. This step comes days after the White House announced an annual fee of $ 100,000 for H-1B visas.
A new lottery process based on wages
According to the proposed rules if H-1B Visa Demand exceeds the statutory annual limit of 85,000, applications from employers offering higher wages would gain more weight in the lottery process. The administration said the changes are to protect US workers from suppression of wages and unfair competition.
“This proposal is designed to ensure that H-1B visas have been assigned to the most qualified employees at work that pay competing wages while protecting opportunities for US employees,” the announcement said.
Trump’s immigration focus
President Trump watched extensive immigration interventions since entering the office in January, including the efforts to expand deportations and limitation of citizenship competence for children of undocumented immigrants. Recently, the administration has intensified its focus on H-1B visas, which is widely used by technological and outsourcing companies to hire specialized foreign talents.
100 000 $ H-1B fee Sparks Discussion
Last Friday, the White House announced that companies would pay $ 100,000 a year for H-1B visas. While some technology companies urged visa holders to return quickly to the US, the administration later clarified the fee only for new visas.
Impact on society and small businesses
The proposed regulation is expected to increase the total wage paid to H-1B employees by $ 502 million in the fiscal year 2026, with planned growth per year to $ 2 billion by 2029.
The timeline of implementation
US citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) will start a 30 -day public period comments from the center. If it was completed, the new process could be introduced for a lottery of 2026, before the march of the registration period.
H-1B overview
The H-1B program provides 65,000 visas for temporary foreign workers a year in specialized fields with another 20,000 visas for advanced titles. India was 71% of approved visas last year, followed by China to 11.7%. Critics claim that the program suppresses wages and limits opportunities for American workers, while supporters, including technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, claim that he is vital to bridge gaps in talents and maintain competitiveness.
(With Reuters inputs)
(Tagstotranslate) H-1B Visa
