US H-1B Overhaul: Lottery To Now Favour High-Paid, High-Skilled 'Aliens' Over Lower Wage Groups

Last Updated:September 22, 2025, 09:18 IST

The State Department said new rules will prioritise better-paid applicants and tighten wage norms to ensure only the most skilled foreign workers benefit.

Trump signed two executive orders, establishing the "Trump Gold Card" and introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. (IMAGE: AFP)

The US State Department said new H-1B rules will prioritise higher-paid applicants and tighten wage requirements to ensure that only the most skilled foreign workers benefit.

“(The) further steps that will be taken to reform the H-1B program, as contemplated in the Proclamation, include, rulemaking by the Department of Labor to revise and raise the prevailing wage levels in order to upskill the H-1B program and ensure that it is used to hire only the best of the best temporary foreign workers," a US State Department FAQ release on the new H-1B visa rules said.

“A rulemaking by the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize high-skilled, high-paid aliens in the H-1B lottery over those at lower wage levels. Additional reforms are also under consideration and will be announced in the coming months," the US State Department’s FAQ note on its website further added.

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