On December 24, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially announced a turning point change for the US labor market: The long-standing "lucrative lottery" system for issuing H-1B visas will be completely abolished.
Instead, this agency will apply a new approach, focusing absolutely on attracting foreign talents with excellent skills and outstanding income.
The decision comes after a series of drastic actions by the Trump administration to reform the visa program, which he said was being exploited.
A representative of the US Department of Immigration and Citizenship (USCIS), Mr. Matthew tragesser, was outspoken in criticizing the old process. He said the previous random selection mechanism had created loopholes for US employers to "import" foreign labor with cheap wages, instead of paying worthy remuneration to local workers.
According to the new regulations, the approval system will switch to the " weighted selection" process. This means that the probability of receiving a visa will be commensurate with the salary and professional qualifications of the candidate. Documents with higher salary proposals will be pushed to the top of the priority list.
This regulation is expected to take effect from February 27, 2026 and will be applied immediately for the upcoming H-1B quota registration season.
This move is seen as in line with recent proposals from the White House, including a controversial decree on charging a $100,000 for each highly skilled visa and the idea of a $1 million "yellow card" visa for the super-rich who want naturalization.
In fact, H-1B visas have long been a "backbone" for human resources in Silicon Valley. This year, e-commerce giant Amazon leads the list of visa recipients with more than 10,000 approved seats, followed by large technology corporations such as Microsoft, Apple and Google.
With a total annual quota limited to 65,000 tournaments ( plus 20,000 tournaments for those with a master's degree or higher), the race for visas is always fierce. Proponents of the new policy believe that prioritizing income will help prevent salary fluctuations and ensure visas reach real experts.
However, this change has also encountered mixed opinions.
The phe criticized the concern that turning salary into the only measure will hinder the opportunities for new graduates or young talents with no seniority to negotiate high salaries.
They believe that large corporations can easily pay high salaries to compete for quotas, while small businesses and startups will be left out of the game, no matter how good the skills of these workers are.
