Weighted selection process for H-1B petitions (proposed regulation)

24 September 2025

This is a proposed regulation to apply a weighted selection process based on wage levels to determine access to the H-1B lottery program. Instead of a purely random lottery, USCIS would assign more entries to H-1B registrations offering higher wages, based on the Department of Labor’s four wage levels. 

Background: The U.S. government limits the number of H-1B work visas allowed to all U.S. for-profit companies each year to 85,000.  Non-profit institutions, universities and colleges, are exempt from this annual limit.

Over the last decade, the number of H-1B visa applications have greatly exceeded the allowed number of H-1B visas.  In April of 2025, for example, the U.S. received five times more H petitions than there were available H visas.  As a result, the government implemented a random lottery system in March of 2020.  Sponsoring employers are required to register for a lottery in order to have a chance to gain a slot for filing an H petition.

An H-1B petition must include an analysis of the offered wage based on the requirements of the job and the geographic area. This analysis uses data from the Department of Labor wage database, or other private wage surveys or analysis.  Each position is assigned a wage level between 1 and 4 - 1 being entry level and 4 being fully competent.  This proposed regulation would change the H lottery from a random process to one that is weighted based on the wage level offered. Petitions offering a Level 4 wage would receive 4 chances in the lottery; Level 3 wages would receive 3 entries; Level 2 wages, 2 entries, and LEvel 1 wages, 1 entry. This would likely skew the results of the lottery to heavily favor the selection of H petitions that were paying higher level wages, and disadvantage petitions that were for entry level positions (even if the entry level wage was high but still categorized as a Level 1 wage).

Prevailing wage information from the Department of Labor can be found here.

You can view the proposed rule here.