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H-1B lottery changes from October 1: Higher-paid workers to get more entries under new rules; what Indians should know
The H-1B FY2027 cap year starts on October 1, introducing a weighted selection system favoring higher-paid positions in the lottery.
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The H-1B FY2027 cap year begins on October 1, bringing a major change to the way the US selects workers for the highly sought-after employment visa. For the first time, USCIS is using a weighted selection system that gives higher-paid positions greater weight in the H-1B lottery.
According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) H-1B cap season guidance, the FY2027 selection process will favor higher-skilled and higher-paid workers while maintaining an opportunity for beneficiaries across all four wage levels.
How the new H-1B lottery will work
Under the new system, an H-1B registration's weight is determined by the highest US Department of Labor Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level that the offered salary meets or exceeds for the relevant occupation and work location.
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The Federal Register final rule lays out the new system: a beneficiary at Wage Level IV will receive four entries in the selection pool, while Level III will receive three, Level II two and Level I one.
This does not mean Level I workers are excluded from the lottery. They remain eligible for selection, but their registrations receive one entry compared with four for Level IV.
USCIS will count each unique beneficiary only once toward the numerical allocation, regardless of how many registrations are submitted for that person.
The Department of Homeland Security estimated that under the weighted system, the selection probability could be about 15.29% for Level I, 30.58% for Level II, 45.87% for Level III and 61.16% for Level IV, based on the assumptions and registration distribution used in its analysis. The agency also stressed that these are estimates, not guaranteed selection rates.
Salary information becomes more important
The new system makes the wage information submitted during registration a critical part of the H-1B process.
If a registration is selected, employers must provide evidence supporting the wage level indicated during registration. USCIS says information in the H-1B petition must generally correspond with the registration, including the relevant SOC code and wage information.
If there is a mismatch, the employer must explain the discrepancy and provide supporting documentation. Without adequate explanation or evidence, USCIS says the petition could be rejected or denied.
The agency has also warned against submitting multiple or duplicative petitions for the same beneficiary. According to USCIS, such filings can result in denial or revocation and the filing fees may not be refunded.
What October 1 means for H-1B workers
The new rules apply to FY2027, which begins October 1, 2026. USCIS says FY2027 cap-subject petitions must request an employment start date of October 1, 2026, or later and generally cannot be filed more than six months before the requested start date.
The annual H-1B cap itself remains 65,000, with an additional 20,000 exemption for beneficiaries who have earned a US master's degree or higher, according to USCIS.
For Indian professionals, who form a major part of the H-1B workforce as per USCIS data, the change means the lottery will no longer treat every wage level in exactly the same way.
A worker whose offered salary meets a higher OEWS wage level will receive more entries in the selection pool, while lower wage levels will continue to remain eligible but with fewer entries.
The FY2027 cycle therefore marks a significant shift from an essentially equal-weight lottery to a system in which the wage level attached to the offered job directly affects how many times that registration enters the selection pool.
