The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published its final rule implementing a weighted selection process for the H-1B lottery. The final rule will go into effect February 27, 2026, in time for the FY 2027 H-1B lottery and is unchanged from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). While DHS acknowledged concerns raised by commenters—particularly about impacts on entry-level workers, small businesses, and nonprofit employers—it concluded that the proposed approach was appropriate and within its statutory authority.
The H-1B lottery selection will be weighted based on how the applicant’s offered wage aligns with the prevailing wage level according to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) salary survey, which utilizes four prevailing wage levels. DHS states the new selection process is intended to favor higher-skilled and higher-paid registrants. In short, a registrant will receive the number of entries corresponding with the DOL salary survey wage level the offered salary meets or exceeds:
- Level IV: 4 entries
- Level III: 3 entries
- Level II: 2 entries
- Level I: 1 entry
Registrants with a U.S. advanced degree will still be eligible to receive an additional opportunity to be selected under the “U.S. master’s cap” exemption.
The final rule requires additional information for H-1B lottery registrants. In addition to basic employer and beneficiary data, for H-1B lottery registration, employers will need to identify the offered salary, the intended worksite(s), and the DOL occupational classification that aligns with the offered position.
The number of available H-1B visas will remain 65,000 for the “regular cap” and 20,000 for the “U.S. master’s cap.”
