Post by : Rameen Ariff

The United States has announced another major change to the H-1B visa programme, just days after President Donald Trump raised the application fee to $100,000.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed to replace the existing lottery system with a wage-based selection process. According to the proposal, applicants with higher salaries will have better chances of being selected for an H-1B visa.

Under the new rule, workers in the top wage level — earning around $162,528 per year — will get four entries in the selection pool, while those in the lowest wage tier will receive only one entry. This means higher-paid and senior professionals will have more chances of approval compared to entry-level workers.

Nicole Gunara, Principal Immigration Attorney at Manifest Law, said the change could reshape the flow of global talent into the US. She explained that senior engineers with salaries above $150,000 at big firms like Meta could receive multiple lottery entries, while junior developers at startups with salaries near $70,000 may get only one. This would give established companies a clear advantage over smaller firms and startups.

Experts believe the rule will push the system towards highly paid senior roles while making it harder for recent graduates and early-career workers to secure visas.

Last week, Trump signed a proclamation announcing the steep $100,000 fee for each H-1B application. The White House defended the move, saying it would stop misuse of the system and encourage companies to hire American workers first.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the action will prevent firms from lowering wages and help businesses who genuinely need high-skilled workers. President Trump himself stressed that the main goal is to protect American jobs.

Indians are among the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa. Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that Indians make up 71% of all approved applications. Major Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro rely heavily on H-1B visas, and the new fee could cost them billions of dollars, forcing them to reduce hiring or shift more jobs back to India.

This development comes as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal are visiting the US to meet Trump administration officials in New York.