U.S. Clears Plan to Swap H-1B Lottery for Wage-Based Selection

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A major shake-up is coming to the H-1B visa system: the White House has approved a proposal to replace the current random lottery with a wage-based selection process. This could dramatically change who gets to work in the U.S.

What’s Happening?

• A new rule, cleared by the White House’s regulatory office on August 8, 2025, could soon be made public and eventually implemented by USCIS and DHS.
• The proposal mirrors an earlier Trump-era plan that ranked applications by wage tiers instead of drawing names randomly.

How Would It Work?

Applications would now be evaluated based on the salary offered, grouped into four tiers:

• Entry: $83,000
• Qualified: $108,000
• Experienced: $127,000
• Fully Competent: $151,000

Under this system, only workers in the top two tiers Experienced and Fully Competent would likely be selected. That means entry-level applicants, especially recent graduates, could lose their chances.

Why It Matters

If this rule goes live, expect:

• Tech Employers will need to offer higher salaries or risk losing out on H-1B slots.
• Entry-Level Professionals and Students may struggle to secure visas even if they qualify academically.
• Startups and Smaller Firms might be edged out, as they typically can’t meet the top-tier wage requirements.

This could be one of the most significant overhauls of the H-1B system in years reshaping who gets access to U.S. work visas.