Proposed H-1B Lottery Changes: Winners and Losers

As news continues to circulate about the proposed pre-registration process for the H-1B visa lottery, the Trump Administration has hinted on a new prioritization strategy for H-1B beneficiaries with master’s degrees and higher. Thus, the April 2019 lottery could see a pre-registration process that skews greatly towards those with advanced degrees, especially for individuals with advanced degrees from a United States college or university.

 New Proposal

According to Bloomberg Law, the unreleased proposal aims to “increase the probability of the total number of petitions selected under the cap filed for H-1B beneficiaries who possess a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education each fiscal year.” The proposal for pre-registration processing could also place greater limitation to minimum wages for H-1B beneficiaries. Thus, USCIS would seek to grant H-1B visas to foreign nationals graduates from masters and doctoral programs in the United States who have high paying employing petitioners. In a scheduling document, the White House stated that it hoped the proposal would “help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries.” The statement also cited that the change is “being considered because the demand for H-1B specialty occupation workers by U.S. employers has often exceeded the numerical limitation.” Through the pre-registration process, and the new skewed selection criteria, DHS intends to more fully abide by the standards outlined in the Executive Order Buy American Hire American.

Winners and Losers

For employers with a high demand for advanced degree holders, this potential proposal could mean smooth sailing come April. Especially for firms in Silicon Valley, the prioritization of foreign nationals with masters and higher degrees from United States institutions allows employers to source employees from prestigious institutions. However, for those employers that employ H-1B visa holders with bachelor’s degrees, or advanced degrees from foreign institutions, the change could bring about staffing troubles. According to Mercury News, “[o]utsourcing and staffing companies such as Infosys, Cognizant, Tata, Wipro and Deloitte tend to obtain more visas for bachelor’s degree holders.” If the changes affect the April 2019 lottery, companies and potential beneficiaries could be in serious trouble.