Proposed H-1B changes could redefine global talent acquisition

"The 105-page notice, which follows late last week's executive order from President Donald Trump that imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, "proposes to implement a weighted selection process that would generally favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid aliens, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels, to better serve the Congressional intent for the H-1B program.""

"In his order, Trump wrote, "information technology (IT) firms in particular have prominently manipulated the H-1B system, significantly harming American workers in computer-related fields. The share of IT workers in the H-1B program grew from 32% in Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 to an average of over 65% in the last five fiscal years. In addition, some of the most prolific H-1B employers are now consistently IT outsourcing companies.""

"In its notice, the DHS noted, "the changes proposed in this rule would better ensure that the H-1B cap selection process favors relatively higher-skilled, higher-valued or higher-paid foreign workers rather than continuing to allow numerically limited cap numbers to be allocated predominantly to workers in lower skilled or lower paid positions." To that end, it estimates that wages earned by successful H-1B applications would total $502 million in 2026 and soar to $1 billion the following year and $1.5 billion in 2028."

A Federal Register notice proposes a weighted H-1B selection system favoring higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign workers while preserving employer access across all wage levels. The notice follows an executive order that imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B applications and criticized information technology firms for disproportionately using the program. The proposal aims to prevent numerically limited cap allocations from going mainly to lower-skilled, lower-paid positions. Projected wages from successful H-1B applicants are estimated at $502 million in 2026, rising to $1 billion in 2027 and $1.5 billion in 2028. The proposal could prompt workforce reorganization within affected industries.

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