The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released details of the H-1B fiscal year 2027 lottery as the season concludes, celebrating a 38.5% decline in registrations. The agency attributes this drop to President Donald Trump's America First policies. In just one year, the number of registrations plummeted from 343,981 in fiscal year 2026 to 211,600 in fiscal year 2027.
USCIS Statement on Program Integrity
"This data is a clear sign that the days of abusing the program with mass, low-wage registrations are over," the USCIS stated. "The program is now better serving its intended purpose of attracting highly skilled foreign workers and protecting the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities of American workers."
New Wage-Based Selection System
For the first time, the H-1B lottery replaced the random selection process with a wage-based system. The USCIS reported that it approved more applicants with advanced degrees and higher salaries, prioritizing those who studied at U.S. universities. "An overwhelming 71.5% of selected aliens hold a U.S. master's degree or higher, compared to 57% last year," the agency noted.
"These skilled workers are making a real impact on our economy, and we're closing the door on the low-wage and low-skilled foreign labor pipeline approved under Biden administration policies," the USCIS added. "This year, only 17.7% of all selected registrations were in the lowest wage category."
Impact on Applicants and Firms
The release of these numbers is eagerly awaited by H-1B applicants and firms handling these applications. They use the data to forecast whether a second or third lottery will be needed if the H-1B quota is not filled in the first round.
Expert Analysis
Immigration attorney Emily Neumann noted that the number of registrations submitted this year is almost the same as a decade ago. However, she attributed the drop largely to the $100,000 fee imposed by Trump on applications from outside the United States. "The 38.5% drop from last year is likely just those beneficiaries who are outside the U.S. and therefore subject to the $100,000 Trump fee," Neumann said.
"Since implementing the electronic lottery, USCIS has selected an average of 127,843 registrations each year to fill the 85,000 slots (not counting 2024, which had a much higher number selected). That would suggest that this year's selection rate should be close to 60%," Neumann projected.
