DHS H-1B Final Rule Impacting Employers: New Weighted Selection System and Other Changes Impacting Case Preparation

This CLE webinar will examine the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) final rule overhauling the H-1B selection process as well as its impact on the H-1B visa petition strategy development and processing. The new rule replaces the longstanding random lottery with a weighted selection system that prioritizes higher wage roles. The panel will discuss key changes in the process and offer best practices for guiding employer clients through the H-1B lifecycle as it stands today. The panel will also address how the new rule may impact employer workforce planning strategies as well as the impact of other recent policy and regulatory developments.

DHS recently made a significant policy shift when it finalized the rule overhauling the H-1B selection process by replacing the longstanding random lottery with a weighted selection process that operates in tandem with the beneficiary-centric system and prioritizes higher wage roles. 

The final rule establishes a weighting process that allocates more lottery entries to those who will be compensated at higher wage levels, thereby increasing the selection odds for the highest-paid workers. While the process still allows for selection at all wage levels, entry-level workers with less experience and lower wage levels will have reduced chances of selection.

Employers will also be required to provide evidence of the basis of the wage level selected. Discrepancies between the representations made during registration and the substantive evidence could lead to requests for additional evidence, denials, or referrals for enforcement.

Moreover, practitioners will have to be careful and exacting in their LCA prevailing wage level determination analyses, which may be distinct from the wage level used during the H-1B lottery registration process and which will be tracked more closely on the latest version of Form I-129, H-1B and H-1B1 Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement (edition: 2/27/26).

This change to H-1B lottery registration methodology also comes amidst a constant flurry of regulatory, policy, and adjudicative changes across DHS. Our panelists will also discuss some of these, such as the intersection of the $100k H-1B fee with cap cases, the adjudicative hold on benefit requests involving individuals from the 75 “travel ban” countries, compliance/fraud detection/enforcement actions, and more.

Listen as our expert panel provides a comprehensive examination of the current H-1B landscape as it impacts employers and offers best practices for compliance.