US: Wage-based H-1B visa selection to rollout from August, low-wage workers may lose out

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in USA proposal to change the H-1B work visa lottery to a weighted selection process passed the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’ (OIRA) review. 

According to Bloomberg Law, the DHS announced plans to introduce a proposal in August to allocate H-1B specialty occupation visas based on wage levels tied to available positions.

As per the International Legal and Business Services Group, a US law firm, a new system will replace the current H-1B lottery to “prioritise registrants that meet specific criteria of wage tiers”.

The proposed rule echoes a plan that sought to prioritise H-1B applicants by wage tiers in 2021.

The new system prioritises candidates based on higher wages or advanced educational backgrounds rather than selecting entrants randomly. 

The US government expects that the new criteria will encourage employers to sponsor applicants for higher-paying and specialised positions.

Foreign workers facing reduced salaries could be the first to suffer under this new rule.

The US Department of Labor uses a four-tier wage system for H-1B roles, determined by a worker’s experience and the requirements of the job.