- For FY2027, USCIS weights entries by wage level, giving higher-level jobs more chances in the H-1B lottery.
- Level IV positions receive four selection entries, while Level I positions receive one; all four levels remain eligible.
- Employers filed registrations March 4–19, 2026; selected petitions must match registered job details and support the wage level.
USCIS will give higher-paid jobs more chances in the H-1B lottery as the FY2027 cap season approaches, replacing the flat random draw with a wage-weighted system.
The change takes effect for the cap season beginning October 1, 2026. All four wage levels remain eligible, but lower-level positions receive fewer entries.
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The registration window has already closed. Employers submitted FY2027 registrations from March 4 to March 19, 2026.
Multiple registrations do not multiply a worker’s cap count. USCIS counts each beneficiary once, even when several employers register that person.
Higher wage levels receive more chances in the selection pool
The number of entries depends on the Department of Labor wage level tied to the job. Level IV positions receive four entries, while Level III jobs receive three.
| DOL wage level | Selection entries |
|---|---|
| Level IV | 4 |
| Level III | 3 |
| Level II | 2 |
| Level I | 1 |
The system gives registrations at higher wage levels more opportunities in the pool. It does not guarantee that any particular worker will be selected.
Under the previous cap process, each registration had one entry in a random draw. The revised approach instead weights the selection pool by wage level, but it does not exclude entry-level jobs or lower-paid workers.
USCIS described the policy’s aim as directing visas toward “higher-skilled and higher-paid workers.” The agency’s formula uses the wage level recorded for the position, rather than giving every registration identical weight.
The rule ties selection to the job’s occupation and location
The wage level comes from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, or OEWS, prevailing wage framework. The level corresponds to the occupation and the location where the work will take place.
That makes the job details behind a registration consequential. Employers need to match the offered wage to the appropriate OEWS level, occupation and worksite location, including the position’s SOC code.
The Department of Homeland Security issued the final rule. It appeared in the Federal Register on December 29, 2025, and took effect February 27, 2026.
Those dates put the rule in place before the FY2027 registration period opened. The March registration window was the first major cap season to use the weighted selection method.
Early-career applicants enter with fewer chances, not a bar
Indian applicants in entry-level or lower-wage roles face fewer entries than candidates whose jobs fall into higher wage levels. The change is particularly relevant to new graduates and early-career workers, who are more likely to be in Level I or Level II bands.
Mid-career and senior roles assigned higher wage levels receive more entries. The system therefore improves the selection position of those registrations relative to lower-level jobs, without guaranteeing an outcome for any applicant.
A higher salary alone does not secure selection. What matters in the formula is the wage level associated with the job, and that level must correspond to the occupation and work location.
Indian workers make up a large share of H-1B beneficiaries, and the new weighting changes the relative position of roles across wage levels. Applicants cannot treat a higher offer as a promise of selection.
Selected employers must carry registration details into the petition
The registration’s wage and job information also becomes important after selection. Employers must support the wage level they used with matching evidence in the petition, and the petition generally must align with the registered wage and job details.
That creates a compliance task for the employer: the offered pay, occupation code and worksite should fit together from registration through petition filing. A mismatch could undermine the employer’s ability to substantiate the level that supplied the registration’s entries.
Employees should understand which wage level their employer used and whether the job details accurately describe the offered role. The number of entries changes the selection odds, not the employer’s obligation to document the position.
The next calendar marker is October 1, 2026, when the FY2027 cap season begins under the new selection rules.
