The random H-1B lottery that has decided the fate of hundreds of thousands of skilled-worker applicants each year is being replaced. Under a final rule from the Department of Homeland Security, the FY2027 H-1B cap will be the first to use a wage-weighted selection process that gives higher-paid registrations a greater chance of being chosen. The rule took effect February 27, 2026, and applies to the upcoming registration season.
Here is how it works. Every H-1B registration still goes into a single selection pool, but registrations tied to higher wage levels are entered into that pool more times. A position offering a Level IV wage (the highest tier under the Department of Labor’s OEWS survey) is entered four times; a Level III position three times; a Level II twice; and a Level I (entry-level) position just once. The practical effect is that beneficiaries with higher salaries — typically more experienced professionals — are substantially more likely to be selected, while entry-level registrations see their odds shrink.
Employers must now include the OEWS wage level in the initial H-1B registration, certifying the highest wage level that the offered salary meets or exceeds for the relevant occupation (SOC code) and area of employment. DHS framed the change as a way to “better protect American workers” by steering the limited supply of cap visas toward higher-skilled, higher-paid roles. The rule also adds process-integrity provisions giving USCIS explicit authority to deny or revoke petitions where registration data appears engineered to inflate selection odds.
For the FY2027 cycle, the registration window runs March 4–19, 2026, with selections expected by March 31 and cap petitions filed April 1 through June 30. The shift is a significant blow to early-career applicants and recent graduates on entry-level salaries, and many are now looking at cap-exempt and merit-based alternatives such as the O-1A, EB-1A, and EB-2 NIW categories, which sidestep the lottery entirely.
Need help with your immigration petition? Visit QuickFiling.us for AI-guided NIW and EB-1A petition preparation.
Source: Reddit r/h1b