The current H-1B visa selection system

Annually, the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) grants 65,000 H-1B visas for highly qualified foreign workers. The H-1B visa program is available for local companies to hire skilled workers in sectors such as technology, science, engineering, and research.

However, hundreds of American or US-based businesses use this service, so the number of applications often exceeds the annual limit. Therefore, to approve applications, the USCIS currently uses a selection system called the H-1B Visa Lottery, which randomly selects applications to be approved, those that meet the mandatory requirements and have already been preselected.

The H-1B Visa Lottery was in jeopardy under the Trump administration, which proposed to replace it with a wage-based selection system, from the highest to the lowest wages. The former president stated multiple times that local companies take advantage of the immigration system to pay lower wages to foreign workers and, therefore, removing the H-1B Visa Lottery would be the appropriate solution to protect American workers.

In fact, on January 8, 2021, just a couple of weeks before Trump left office, his administration released the Final Rule that would change the current H-1B visa selection system to one based on wages, which was supposed to go into effect 60 days later.

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The Biden administration might use Trump’s proposal to select H-1B visas

President Joe Biden, who took office on January 20, 2021, has used every tool at his disposal to lift Trump’s restrictions on business immigration, especially those related to the H-1B visa program for highly qualified foreign workers.

Regarding the H-1B visa selection system, the Biden administration postponed changes implemented by the Trump administration and stated that the H-1B Visa Lottery would remain in effect, at least during 2021.

However, the Biden administration also stated that it would review Trump’s proposal and make the decisions that best serve the national interest, meaning that it could implement the wage-based selection system to approve H-1B visa applications starting next year, but it is still uncertain.

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Possible repercussions of wage-based selection system

Replacing the H-1B Visa Lottery with a wage-based selection system could have several adverse repercussions for local companies and immigrant communities.

Let’s look at some crucial points:

• International students who come to the US to complete their higher studies hope to have the opportunity to gain work experience through programs such as OPT (Optional Practical Training) and later the H-1B visa. In fact, they contribute greatly to the socio-economic development of local companies and also participate in entrepreneurship projects.
  However, since they normally apply to entry-level positions, their wages are usually low, which would cause most of their applications to be rejected under the wage-based selection system and the US could stop attracting talent from abroad.
• According to a recent report, the wage-based H-1B visa selection system would not only affect foreign students holding F-1 visas, but “It would also disadvantage startups, smaller companies and firms outside of the largest metro areas.”

Therefore, it is essential for the Biden administration to evaluate the possible repercussions of replacing the H-1B Visa Lottery, which would allow it to reshape Trump’s proposal and assertively choose the path that would invigorate the economy in times of crisis.

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