“Why does the U.S. want to scrap the H-1B visa lottery and what do they plan to replace it with?”

The U.S. government is proposing to change the H-1B visa program, specifically targeting the lottery system.¹ The main reason for this proposed change is to move away from a random lottery and towards a system that favors “high-skilled, high-paid” foreign workers.²

Here’s a breakdown of the key reasons and the proposed replacement:

Why the U.S. wants to scrap the H-1B lottery:

• To Prioritize High-Skilled Workers: The current lottery is random, meaning a recent graduate with an entry-level salary has the same chance of being selected as a highly experienced professional with a senior-level salary. The new system is designed to give a greater chance to workers who have higher skills and are offered higher wages.³
• To Curb Perceived Misuse of the System: The government believes some companies use the lottery to hire lower-paid foreign workers, which critics say undercuts wages for American workers.⁴ By prioritizing higher-paying jobs, they aim to ensure the program is used for top-tier talent that is not readily available in the U.S. workforce.
• To Address “Gaming” the System: In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of registrations for the lottery, with some companies submitting multiple entries for the same person.⁵ The new rules are intended to prevent this kind of “gaming” and make the system fairer.

What the U.S. wants to use to replace it:

The U.S. is proposing a wage-based, weighted selection process.⁶

Here’s how it would work:

• Wage Tiers: The system would assign each H-1B candidate to one of four wage tiers (Level 1 to Level 4) based on the salary offered for their specific job and location, using data from the U.S. Department of Labor.⁷
• Weighted Lottery: Instead of a purely random lottery, the new system would give applicants in higher wage tiers more entries in the selection pool.⁸ For example:
  • A candidate with a Level 4 (highest) wage would get multiple entries (e.g., four).⁹
  • A candidate with a Level 1 (lowest) wage would get only one entry.
• Fairness and Competition: The idea is that while everyone would still have a chance, those with higher-paying job offers would have a significantly better chance of being selected.¹⁰ This is meant to encourage employers to offer better compensation and seek out more experienced, qualified candidates.¹¹

It’s important to note that these changes are currently just a proposal and are expected to face legal challenges.¹²