The Trump administration released on Tuesday a proposal to reformulate the selection process H-1B, to favor more qualified and better paid workers, according to a Related Federal Register notice.
The measure is followed by a White House proclamation on Friday, introducing a rate of $ 100,000 for visas.
The new process, if finalized, will give more weight to the requests of employers who pay high salaries if the annual visa requests exceed the legal limit of 85,000, according to the notice. The measure aims to protect Americans from the unfair salary competition of foreign workers, according to the statement.
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US President Donald Trump launched a wide repression of immigration after taking office in January, including a mass deportation campaign and an attempt to block citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
In recent days, the government has intensified its focus on the H-1B program, popular between technology and outsourcing companies to hire qualified foreign workers.
The Trump government announced on Friday that it would charge companies to pay $ 100,000 per year from H-1B visas. Some large technology companies warned the visa carriers to stay in the US or return quickly, triggering a chaotic race to return to the country. The White House later clarified that the rate would only apply to new visas.
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The planned regulation, published on Tuesday, would change an existing lottery process to obtain visas if demand exceeds the offer in a given year, creating salary levels where jobs with higher salaries would be more likely to be selected.
The process to finalize a regulation may take months or even years. The warning suggested that the new rules could be in force for the 2026 lottery, that is, before the registration period in March.
The total salaries paid to H-1B workers would increase to $ 502 million in the 2026 fiscal year, which starts on October 1, the warning said, citing estimates from the Internal Security Department (DHS).
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Salaries would increase by $ 1 billion in the fiscal year of 2027, $ 1.5 billion in the fiscal year of 2028 and $ 2 billion in the fiscal year of 2029-2035.
It is estimated that 5,200 small businesses currently receiving H-1B visas would be significant economic impact due to loss of labor, DHS said. The US citizenship and immigration service, which issued the proposal, will give the public 30 days for comments from Wednesday, the warning said.
