The sweeping overhaul of the United States H-1B visa system and associated Green Card regulations in 2025 has significantly altered the prospects for foreign workers seeking to live and work in America, with far-reaching consequences for employers, professionals and families around the world. Announced late in December by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the new rules abolish the long-standing random lottery system for H-1B visas and replace it with a weighted selection process that prioritises higher-skilled and higher-paid applicants, reshaping access to temporary work visas and permanent residency. These reforms, set to take effect on February 27, 2026 for the FY 2027 visa cycle, come alongside a suite of other measures including an unprecedented $100,000 fee for employers sponsoring H-1B workers and enhanced vetting procedures for applicants.
Under the revamped system, workers with advanced skills, specialised expertise and higher wage offers stand to benefit most from the changes. The weighted selection process is deliberately calibrated to favour candidates who command higher salaries and possess specialised qualifications, effectively giving them a competitive edge over entry-level or lower-paid applicants. This shift aligns with the U.S. government’s stated objective of protecting American workers and reducing opportunities for employers to use the visa system to recruit less skilled labour at lower wages. As a result, large American tech firms such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Apple — which traditionally sponsor large numbers of H-1B workers and are able to offer higher salaries — remain strong beneficiaries under the new regime. Foreign graduates already in the United States on student visas, particularly those with advanced degrees and employment lined up in high-wage roles, also face fewer obstacles transitioning to work visas under the updated rules.
Beyond the immediate visa allocation changes, the overhaul also introduces more favourable pathways towards permanent residency for high-skilled workers. Those H-1B holders already in high-earning roles may find the new Green Card process comparatively smoother, as the USCIS and Department of Homeland Security emphasise prioritising top talent. Wealthier immigrants opting for newly introduced “Gold Card” programmes — designed to fast-track residency for substantial investors — are among the clear winners in the revised immigration landscape, reflecting a broader tilt towards economic prioritisation in U.S. immigration policy.
However, the reforms have left many individuals and smaller employers facing uncertainty and disadvantage. Lower-skilled foreign workers, particularly those in entry-level positions or on wages that do not meet the new selection thresholds, now have sharply reduced chances of securing H-1B visas. Recent graduates and international students hoping to use the H-1B programme as a springboard into the U.S. workforce are especially squeezed as employers grow cautious about sponsoring visas that carry significantly higher costs and administrative burdens. Small and mid-sized companies, which lack the financial resources of major multinational corporations, are likewise less inclined to absorb the steep new visa sponsorship fees, potentially slowing hiring and shrinking opportunities for foreign professionals.
Critically, nationals from countries historically dominant in H-1B allocations — notably India and China — are among those most affected by the overhaul. Indian citizens alone accounted for approximately 71 per cent of all H-1B visas in the previous fiscal year, with China following at nearly 12 per cent. The shift to a weighted, wage-based system disproportionately disadvantages applicants from these countries who traditionally secured visas through lottery selection rather than high-salary offers, contributing to widespread anxiety among tech professionals and their families about future prospects in the U.S. job market. New vetting requirements targeting involvement in content moderation, censorship or disinformation further compound the challenges for certain applicants, raising the possibility of denials on broader national security grounds.
The full impact of the 2025 overhaul will become clearer as the FY 2027 H-1B cap season unfolds in early 2026, but analysts and immigration attorneys say the changes represent one of the most significant reconfigurations of U.S. work visa policy in decades, with winners on the higher end of the skill and wage spectrum and potential setbacks for those at the lower tiers.
