The Ending of H1B Visa Lottery: What It Could Mean for the Aspirants

A proposed rule has recently surfaced in the White House that can significantly change the mode of the annual H-1B visa lottery. Previously, a random selection process was active each year when the H-1B registrations exceeded the annual limit of 65000, along with a 20000 exemption for advanced degree holders from a U.S. University. However, now the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to award H-1B petitions based on salary from highest to lowest. The opposition has commented that this could present difficulty for talented people in the low salary quota. Here, we are going to zoom in on what these new H-1B visa requirements could mean for the visa landscape and the aspirants.

What does the proposed new H-1B system mean for aspirants?

In 2021, the Department of Homeland Security published a rule to govern the H-1B selection procedure. This is the same rule that is about to get implemented. Though the final rule could differ in articulation and conditionals, the proposed rule will be based on the 2021 one, which the Biden Administration did not implement. They stated:

So, to put it in the layman’s language, the employers pay higher salaries to more veteran employees. They will fall in level 4 and be considered fully competent in the new H-1B requirements. Novice international students and other individuals at the dawn of their careers will fall into the level 1 and level 2. They are the least likely candidates to be selected in the new procedure.

In other words, according to DHS, USCIS is less likely to select anybody paid at level 1 for the regular cap. With enough petitions from the level-3 and level-4 registrants, applicants paid at the level 2 might get completely shut out from obtaining the H-1B petitions.

A National Foundation for American Policy analysis has revealed that an international student would be 54% more likely to get access to an H-1B petition in the current system than under the upcoming new rule that relies too much on wage-based categories. All in all, the new system can pose several disadvantages to international students and early-career professionals.

How can the new change impact the professional aspirants?

This rule, if passed, would put many aspirants in jeopardy. There are many occupations, like physicians, internists, pediatricians, dentists, and computer and information systems managers, where individuals are only paid a level-1 salary. They are the most vulnerable group to suffer from this change of policy.

Is there a way out?

Forbes has noted how, despite having extraordinary talent, an individual’s H-1B petition can get thwarted under the new system. They sharply remarked how Katalin Karikó, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist, would have been shut out by this salary-based evaluation system:

The bottom line is that individual talent won’t get you through the H-1B category anymore. So, is there a solution?

There is still a flicker of hope. There is still an employment-based category that prioritizes genius and extraordinary contribution above everything else. This category is the EB-1A visa. For years, we have been encouraging industry experts to explore this category.

Are you ready for EB-1A? We have made a free assessment test for aspirants just like you. If you are wondering how EB-1A can help you find a way out of this straitjacket, feel free to reach out to us. We will be happy to discuss and break it down for you.