On December 29, 2025, DHS published a final rule amending the registration and selection process for cap-subject H-1B petitions to implement a new “weighted” lottery system that will favor registrants who are offered higher wages. The new system will be effective from February 27, 2026.
Under this new framework, beneficiaries offered jobs with higher wage levels relative to their occupational classification will have a statistically higher chance of selection. The system assigns a number of lottery entries corresponding to the wage level offered. For example, a beneficiary offered a Level IV wage (the highest tier) will be entered into the lottery four times, whereas a beneficiary offered a Level I wage will be entered only once. This change reflects a government initiative to favor higher-skilled, higher-paid professionals. Employers must now carefully consider the wage levels offered during the registration phase, as this directly impacts the probability of their candidate being selected to file a petition.
A “Wage Level” will be assigned to each beneficiary based on the wage offered to the foreign worker by the prospective employer, the type of job which is expressed as a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code in the Bureau of Labor Statistics database, and the area of expected employment, which is based on Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The government will compare the offered wages with the BLS database of the prevailing wages for that region for that occupation, which is divided into four Levels based on the seniority of the position. Level I wages are the average wages paid to an entry-level worker in the U.S. in that kind of occupation. Level II wages are those paid to more experienced workers, Level III even more so, and Level IV wages are the average wage that a senior worker with many years of experience would typically earn in that occupation.
After each beneficiary is classified into a Wage Level based on the wage offered, the occupation, and the area of expected employment, the government will enter each beneficiary into the lottery in the following manner. Beneficiaries who are offered a “Level I wage” will be granted one entry into the lottery. Those offered a “Level II wage” will be given two entries, “Level III” three entries, and “Level IV” four entries. DHS estimates that the weighting system will have the expected impact of decreasing the odds of selection of Level I beneficiaries by 48%, and increasing the odds of selection of Level II beneficiaries by 3.35%, Level III beneficiaries by 55.02%, and Level IV beneficiaries by 106.69%. As such, applicants who are paid at the highest level would be twice as likely to be selected than under a purely random selection system.
Registration for the H-1B lottery will now require a lot more detail than before, and it will be critical to report these details accurately at the first instance. Registration will require employers to provide the offered wage, SOC code of the position, and area of intended employment, based on which the registration will be weighted. After the lottery takes place, the employer must be very careful about changing the wage, area of employment, or SOC code, because any discrepancies may result in USCIS interpreting it as a misrepresentation to increase the odds of selection and can result in denial of the petition.
