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Businesses United States

US Signals Intention To Rethink Job H-1B Lottery (theregister.com) 134

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) intend to reevaluate how H-1B visas are issued, according to a regulatory filing. From a report: The notice, filed on Thursday with the US Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), seeks the statutory review of a proposed rule titled "Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions."

Once the review is complete, which could be a matter of days or weeks, the text of the rule is expected to be published in the US Federal Register. Based on the rule title, it appears the government intends to change the system for allocating H-1B visas the current lottery to some system that will favor applicants who meet specified criteria, possibly related to skills.

The H-1B visa program, which reached its Fiscal 2026 cap on Friday, allows skilled guest workers to come work in the US. As of 2019, there were about 600,000 H-1B workers in the US, according to USCIS. The foreign worker program is beloved by technology companies, ostensibly to hire talent not readily available from American workers. But H-1B -- along with the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program -- has long been criticized for making it easier to undercut US worker wages, limiting labor rights for immigrants, and for persistent abuse of the rules by outsourcing companies.

US Signals Intention To Rethink Job H-1B Lottery

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  • by Targon ( 17348 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @08:35AM (#65536448)

    With Donald Trump playing games, I am sure he will make sure that prostitutes will be able to come in on the visa program and squeeze out actual skilled workers.

    • by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @08:37AM (#65536452)

      The only qualified person he ever hired was Stormy Daniels and of course she was paid with company money.

    • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @09:32AM (#65536550)
      More likely this will give the Trump administration the ability to pick and choose which types of h-1b's get favored so that he can give his friends... Who am I getting Trump doesn't have friends the people bribing him preferential treatment.

      Every single thing this administration does is designed to structure power so that we're that much closer to a dictatorship. That's what project 2025 is about. I've no doubt this is just part of that.
    • The U.S. should LEGALIZE prostitution and regulate it like they do In Germany. In Germany prostitution is a job. They get taxed like any other job. They are also required to get "health checkups" monthly and display their health certificate where it's visible. They are also required to use Condoms. With all the human sex trafficking you don't need them in on H1-B's. They are already HERE.
  • You mean getting the visa lottery or getting thrown out of the country lottery? The visa is already totally useless.
  • by gtall ( 79522 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @08:47AM (#65536470)

    la Presidenta is entirely transactional. He thinks of the fed. gov. as holding something others want, hence they will be required to pay for it. He won't care whether companies or the individual pays, but he'll announce it as though the individual always pays.

    Example: la Presidenta announced he would give more arms to Ukraine but then constrained them in two ways. (1) they won't get them before Putin's 60-day limit he told la Presidenta he needed to steal more of Ukraine, and (2) he is making Europe pay for the arms.

    So in effect, it will be Europe giving more arms to Ukraine after he's paid off Putin for being his homicidal maniac who is fun to be with. And of course he announced to the corporate press that he's arming Ukraine and they blandly regurgitated that bullshit.

    • by jacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @10:22AM (#65536658)

      America has 2 main geopolitical rivals, we voted in the tough guy, the ruthess businessman, the Art of the Deal Master Negotiator and both Xi and Putin have run circles around him, made him and all of us look stupid ("Vladimir Stop!") [pbs.org].

      Also 90 deals in 90 days? We are sitting at 0-90. But hey they sent some letters out.

      • we voted in the tough guy, the ruthess businessman, the Art of the Deal Master Negotiator

        No, we (as a country, not me personally) voted in the weak guy, the failed businessman and the poor negotiator (he didn't even write the book).

        and both Xi and Putin have run circles around him, made him and all of us look stupid ("Vladimir Stop!").

        Entirely predictable outcome. Anyone with half a brain could see that this would happen, that Trump isn't a businessman, isn't a negotiator. But unfortunately, too many people in the USA don't have half a brain.

  • by GrokvL ( 673310 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @09:00AM (#65536490)
    Break company sponsorship of H1B visa recipient. Put all candidates and their skills in a sort of portal. Let US companies bid on them and have the pay verifiably go through a department, perhaps commerce or labor. If the bids do not reach 175% of the level of what US citizens with similar experience are getting for those skills, no visa for that candidate. Visa holders can be bid on every 3 months, for their skills matrix. This ends the indentured servant portion, and ends the secret $8/hour actual wages facade.
    • by Malc ( 1751 )

      That kind of defeats the purpose of bringing in people who have specific skills. Furthermore, as a former H1b myself, I know that the salary has to satisfy the Department of Labor's prevailing wage. If you want to make the salary threshold higher, no need to turn it in to an auction, just set the bar higher.

      I decided the US wasn't for me after three years and moved overseas. I then worked 1099-MISC for another American company for four years (until it was bought by a company with an international office

      • Do you mean the O-1 Visa?

        To qualify for an O-1 visa, you must demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievement in motion pictures or television. This requires evidence of sustained national or international acclaim, meaning you are one of the small percentage at the top of your field. You must also be coming to the U.S. to continue working in your area of expertise

        Everyone seems believe H1-B's requirements are that of the O-1. But H1-B

        • by Malc ( 1751 )

          No. I was replying to somebody who wrote about H1b and I had an H1b in the late 90s. Not sure if anything's changed in the requirements since then, but it wasn't just an any old route in to the US. It was a bit of pain all around. Probably not worth the hassle of the expense and time to apply for one, unless there's no enforcement of the prevailing wage requirements for example and it really is used for undercutting local talent. I was certainly on a fair wage at the time.

          • by SScorpio ( 595836 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @11:05AM (#65536760)

            I recommend reading up on the current situation that's been around for over a decade. Things have changed in the almost 30 years since you used the program.

            The majority of H1-B visas are used by have a handful of consulting firms that under pay their staff. Many require managerial kick backs and staff are staying 4-5 if not more to an apartment or condo. H1-B recipients can change jobs why finding a new corporate sponsor. But many are unable to so the choice is keep working and living in the subpar conditions getting low pay, or having to go back home.

            Having a program where you can bring in needed talent is a net positive. But there's tons of fraud going on with faking of education and credentials. Initial video calls where someone is sitting in front of the camera and being giving responses on what to say. And that's if the person on the camera is the one who physically shows up.

          • by keltor ( 99721 ) *
            Despite what the other person replying to you said, there's no real material change to how anything works and in reality, the pay situation has improved enormously - $96k minimum pay and $168k average pay. People act like they are using H1B visas to employ Amazon Warehouse employees.
        • by keltor ( 99721 ) *
          The absolutely lowest anyone on H1B is paid currently is $96k US. The top SALARIES are a bit over $1mil US - those people of course are also being paid extensive equity packages as well. The average is $168k US. There's some depression of their pay vs Americans in the same roles, but again those roles generally lack sufficient people.

          The real goal of the H1B Visa program is to encourage immigration of people who bring LOTS of value to the US.

          The whole entire program is entire convoluted for no good reaso
    • This would never fly in Trump World. All these foreigners making at least 175% of what US citizens in the same region make, therefore able to way outbid locals for housing and other limited availability commodities. Would cost Trump a lot of supporters.

      As a side note, I've hired people on H1B - between the government's DOL requirement to pay at least prevailing wage for the job, and the relocation costs, and the lawyer costs, H1B's always costed us more than locals, so we only went down that path when we
  • A simple fix? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kackle ( 910159 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @09:19AM (#65536526)
    Make the minimum salary always be double (or even more) the average American salary. That way it filters out the hiring of "slave labor", prevents Americans from illegally losing their jobs via the corruptible system and automatically adjusts over time, versus having a fixed number. If the imports are supposedly that special, this should not be a problem.
    • America has a long history of bringing immigrants in on the ground floor to lift up the working class beneath them. It has been the main source of class mobility in this country for centuries.
      Having native born, and mostly white, Americans do all the shit jobs and never moving up in the world. While skilled immigrants come into live in nice houses and drive nice cars. That's a recipe for civil unrest and far right populism.

      • Why would companies bring someone in if they were able to hire two citizens for the same wage?

        H1-B is being abused to out source and bring in a bunch of cheap labor. Take away the "cheap" factor and things change.

        Besides the increased wage requirement, having every H1-B position require companies to also pay into a system that trains citizens on the needed skills would over time solve the issue that there's no one local with the needed abilities.

        • Why would companies bring someone in if they were able to hire two citizens for the same wage?

          If there is an artificial shortage because you can only hire citizens, then you will see wage inflation.

          Temporary worker visas are a part of the globalization trend that the Liberals and Neoconservatives sold to use decades ago. We citizens compete in a global market place for jobs. We let our representatives rip the power of unions apart, and we encouraged maximizing middle class retirement funds on the stock market at the expense of screwing the working class.

    • Problem is that median wage is a useless number. Wages vary all over the country. Wages are higher in San Francisco and lower in Pittsburg.

      IMHO a better solution is to make the tax rate something like 60% with no deductions. If you want take-home pay to be $40,000, you have to pay them $100,000.

      • by kackle ( 910159 )
        Good point. X times the local average wage? X times the industry average? The tax idea could work, but I'm not fond of making the tax system even more complex.
    • Simple fix: award H1-B visas in order of salary to be paid to the visa holder.

    • by keltor ( 99721 ) *
      It is double the average salary.

      The average is enormous and is more than double the average HOUSEHOLD income. Those are payroll salaries as well, many of the jobs come with equity that the government doesn't track. I've worked with 100s of H1Bs and never heard any of them complain about their pay.

      The only real thing that truly sucks is that the visa is owned by the company instead of the person. If it was owned by the person, you'd see pay double. (Because pay is 100% really just about retention.)
  • by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @09:34AM (#65536556)
    If you look at employment statistics, three of the top 5 are consulting firms, primarily IT. Setting a cap on H1B visas any company can have or get in a year would encourage them to look for talent they can keep long term as well as make more available for other companies. Allowing H1B holders to more easily change jobs, outlawing exit fees if they leave, etc. would also go a long way to, IMHO, making the system better or all concerned.
  • by Gilmoure ( 18428 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @09:40AM (#65536574) Journal

    [gov't looks at skin color chart]

  • by hwstar ( 35834 ) on Tuesday July 22, 2025 @10:11AM (#65536634)

    Comes down to American labor laws.

    Unlike the rest of the world American labor laws are an abomination:

    1. No limits on working time. Salaried employees end up volunteering for the company they work for after 40 hours. If they don't work this unpaid overtime, they will be subject to progressive discipline up to and including termination.

    2. America uses the "Employment-at-will" doctrine instead of just cause. This means you can be terminated for any reason so long as it isn't an illegal reason. What defines an illegal reason is very lax in all states with some being worse than others (Typically the red states are worse than the blue states). With such an ambiguous definition of what is grounds for termination, you see people fired for ridiculous reasons: For example if the boss doesn't like the color of your shirt when you show up for work, you can be fired and you have no recourse. Most working people in the United States are subject to employment-at-will except those in unions, and of course the top executives at companies. The executives have employment contracts and are typically protected by just cause employment standards (Just like the rest of the world)

    3. Binding arbitration clauses. These exclude you from bringing a lawsuit in court against your employer. You have to go through an arbitration organization such as the American Arbitration Association. The judgement by the arbitrators is final, non-appealable, and private. The judgement is taken to a court and recorded after the decision has been made, and can be enforced by further sanctions in the court system. These arbitrators are funded by the companies which use them in their employment paperwork. Given that they receive their operating revenue from the companies, their decisions.

    • "1. No limits on working time. Salaried employees end up volunteering for the company they work for after 40 hours. If they don't work this unpaid overtime, they will be subject to progressive discipline up to and including termination."

      And termination often isn't a matter of just finding another job but having to go back to country of origin, where jobs are scarce to nonexistent. This makes the threat of termination a huge, career-threatening thing, which tends to promote servitude. Which makes the manag

  • might end up in a Salvadorian concentration camp in less time than it takes to say "Oh, what are these armed, masked men surrounding me for?"

  • They want to figure out how to pre-deport people, rather than giving them entry status, then revoking it after they've settled in. Saves on the masked ICE raids.

  • Speaking as someone who's entire department was gradually replaced with H1b workers (not complaining at all, as it led to a better paying job) I observed as the replacement process went on, that the incoming workers tended to work 70 - 80 hour weeks, essentially living in their cubicles, and tended to be more completely under control of their H1b boss. They tended to have no local family, once a year going back to their respective countries to be with family for a few weeks, before coming back for another

    • Speaking as someone who's entire department was gradually replaced with H1b workers (not complaining at all, as it led to a better paying job) I observed as the replacement process went on, that the incoming workers tended to work 70 - 80 hour weeks, essentially living in their cubicles, and tended to be more completely under control of their H1b boss. They tended to have no local family, once a year going back to their respective countries to be with family for a few weeks, before coming back for another year of nothing but work and sleep. Essentially mid-salary indentured servitude.

      So, if costs go down and productive hours go up, and (I think) overhead goes down, (as, I believe they were contractors rather than full time, so reduced benefits costs (this is speculation as it's outside my visibility)) why wouldn't a company encourage this?

      And how does this situation benefit the US work force?

      Among other things, Indentured servants who have no power to negotiate will do illegal tasks for their boss or be sent home.

      • Speaking as someone who's entire department was gradually replaced with H1b workers (not complaining at all, as it led to a better paying job) I observed as the replacement process went on, that the incoming workers tended to work 70 - 80 hour weeks, essentially living in their cubicles, and tended to be more completely under control of their H1b boss. They tended to have no local family, once a year going back to their respective countries to be with family for a few weeks, before coming back for another year of nothing but work and sleep. Essentially mid-salary indentured servitude.

        So, if costs go down and productive hours go up, and (I think) overhead goes down, (as, I believe they were contractors rather than full time, so reduced benefits costs (this is speculation as it's outside my visibility)) why wouldn't a company encourage this?

        And how does this situation benefit the US work force?

        Among other things, Indentured servants who have no power to negotiate will do illegal tasks for their boss or be sent home.

        It doesn't benefit the US work force at all. Just pointing out the perception that it benefits US companies.

        Illegal tasks like cooking data, as just one example.

        Combine this with diploma mill issues, and the company can end up with a department ill-equipped to do the job, ill-equipped to communicate results, poor ethics with little accountability, and just generally a way to siphon off funds. But it looks good on paper.

  • This administration only knows quid pro quo and personal advantage. Any change to visa distribution under these politics could very well depend on how much you scratch their back.

  • Any company that lays off workers is ineligible to use H1B to hire workers for a similar job description for 12 months.

    Lay off some EEs? No more H1B EEs for you, 12 months!

    SWEs, same deal.

    Lawyers will need to fine tune the definition of "similar" but you get the idea. Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc should be ineligible for H1B engineers for a while

  • I would dump Infosys stock ASAP

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