Policy adjustments to the H-1B visa programme under the current administration have increased employer costs and drawn greater regulatory scrutiny, while government figures compiled by the Congressional Research Service point to a notable drop in applications filed by large technology firms.
Issued on 14 October, the document examines a cluster of presidential directives touching on pay scales, how visa applications are prioritised, the terms under which people work, and the pathways available to overseas-trained professionals who wish to remain in the country.
The report noted that, starting in February 2026, a points-weighted selection system replaced the longstanding random draw for visa allocation, giving preference to candidates with higher earnings and greater professional qualifications. Under the updated framework, H-1B employment lottery applications became subject to the new rules starting that October.
A rule change put forward by the Labor Department that March would have raised the pay floors companies are required to set when bringing in overseas professionals. The plan would push the wage floor for entry-level positions from roughly the 17th percentile of area pay rates up to the 34th percentile. Eligibility thresholds tied to longer work histories would also climb by a notable amount.
Projections from the Labor Department put the added burden on employers at roughly $1.46 billion during the opening year under the proposed wage adjustments.
One fee detailed in the document — set at $103,265 and linked to particular H-1B petition filings — sits at a different level from the $100,000 charge that went into force in September 2025, which applies when employers seek to bring H-1B workers into the country from overseas. A congressional review found that court proceedings have placed a hold on the earlier fee.
The document draws a distinction between those new obligations it sets out and the steps that have already been put in place. One adjustment rolled out under the new framework stretches an existing $4,000 biometric fee to cover certain H-1B and L-1 visa extension petitions that previously fell outside its scope.
Federal authorities have expanded their scrutiny of employers suspected of exploiting the visa programme — either by manipulating its requirements or by replacing domestic workers with lower-cost hires from abroad. An executive order signed by Trump that September directed federal agencies to strengthen coordination when assessing visa or work-permit applications tied to employers that had already carried out layoffs or had announced plans to cut their workforce.
Under current law, nothing automatically bars a company from bringing on H-1B visa holders even after it has let domestic workers go, the report found.
Proposed adjustments to the rules stand to have a direct bearing on overseas workers and the people they support at home. A 60-day buffer allowing certain temporary foreign workers to remain after losing a job would be removed under a plan put forward by the administration. Spousal work-permit renewals tied to H-1B visa holders have also been stripped of their previously automatic status, the assessment found.
Among the data points highlighted in the document, the drop in employer appetite for hiring from abroad stands out. Across the opening eight months that the $100,000 fee was in place, petitions lodged by cap-exempt employers seeking consular processing fell by 91 per cent, according to the report's findings.
Under the H-1B scheme, businesses operating in the United States can bring in overseas professionals to fill roles across fields such as technology, engineering, finance, and research that require specialised knowledge. Workers from India have, over time, accounted for a greater share of H-1B visa approvals than those from any other country. Contributions from that initiative have shaped both the growth trajectory of the technology sector in the United States and the day-to-day functioning of Indian IT firms whose client base sits across the Atlantic.
