The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently proposed revisions to the regulations governing the H-1B annual lottery. Each year, the H-1B annual quota or “cap” is set at 65,000 visas, with an additional 20,000 H-1B visas reserved for individuals who hold a U.S. master’s degree or higher.

Under the current H-1B lottery selection process, employers register each prospective H-1B employee in the lottery. Individuals who have a U.S. master’s degree or higher are eligible for selection under both the “master’s cap” and “regular cap,” and individuals who have a U.S. bachelor’s degree, foreign degree, or equivalent work experience, are eligible for selection under the “regular cap.” USCIS randomly selects employees out of the lottery pool, and employers with selected employees may then file H-1B cap-subject petitions on their behalf.

Proposed Changes:

The proposed rule would replace the random H-1B lottery selection process with a weighted system based on an employee’s wage level. During the H-1B registration process, employers would need to certify each employee’s wage level, job category, and work location.

While employees would still only be counted toward the H-1B cap once, they would receive weighted entries in the lottery selection pool as follows:

• Level IV wages → 4 entries in the lottery
• Level III wages → 3 entries
• Level II wages → 2 entries
• Level 1 wages → 1 entry

The new rule would heavily favor employers offering higher wages and make the H-1B lottery selection process more difficult for employees in entry-level positions.

Next Steps:

Publication of the proposed rule is followed by a 30-day public comment period. All members of the public who have a stake in the outcome of the proposed rule are invited and encouraged to submit comments here on or before October 24, 2025.