USCIS will weight H-1B lottery by salary starting Feb 2026
17 days ago
- #H-1B visa
- #immigration policy
- #tech workforce
- Starting February 27, 2026, the H-1B lottery will be wage-weighted, with Level IV candidates receiving 4 entries and Level I candidates receiving 1.
- Entry-level (Level I) workers lose 57% of their selection probability, dropping from 20.0% to 8.6%.
- Senior (Level IV) candidates see a 73% increase in selection probability, rising from 15.6% to 26.8%.
- Product companies hiring junior talent are disproportionately impacted compared to staffing firms.
- The new system favors higher salaries, potentially maximizing economic output but disadvantaging early-career professionals.
- Job seekers on F-1 OPT should aim for Level II or higher roles to improve their odds.
- Employers may need to explore alternative visas like O-1 or L-1 for junior talent due to the new H-1B rules.
- The analysis is based on 517,874 Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) from Fiscal Year 2024.