US cuts H-1B registrations by 39%, crackdown on low-wage hiring intensifies

H-1B numbers reveal a big shift: Low-wage applications are being squeezed out

As the US tightens scrutiny of its H-1B visa system, new data released by USCIS suggests a major shift is underway: America is increasingly favouring highly paid foreign workers with advanced US degrees, while shutting the door on lower-wage mass applications that once dominated the programme.  H-1B is becoming an elite visa: 71.5% selected applicants had US Master’s degrees 

 

 According to USCIS, 71.5% of selected H-1B applicants this year held a US master’s degree or higher, up sharply from 57% last year, while registrations in the lowest wage category dropped significantly as the Trump administration pushed its “America First” immigration agenda focused on attracting what it calls “top talent.”

 

In a statement released at the close of this year’s H-1B season, USCIS said the programme was now producing “better results” under President Donald Trump’s “America First” immigration policies. The agency said it was approving more applicants with higher salaries and advanced qualifications while reducing approvals in lower wage categories.

 

In fact registrations for H-1B visas dropped by 38.5 per cent in fiscal year 2027 with the US saying it had approved more applicants with advanced degrees and higher salaries of those "making a real impact on the economy." The decision by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is likely to affect the Indians the most, who made up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years.

 

The numbers suggest that foreign students graduating from American universities are gaining a significantly stronger advantage in the H-1B process.

 

In a post on X on Thursday, the USCIS said only 17.7 per cent of all selected registrations were in the lowest wage category.

 

"The number of properly submitted registrations plummeted by 38.5 per cent, from 3,43,981 in fiscal year 2026 to just 2,11,600 in fiscal year 2027," the USCIS said.

 

What does this mean? 

 

This year’s H-1B season showed “great results” from the administration’s “America First” policies, claiming the system is now moving away from what it described as:

 

“low-wage and low-skilled foreign labor.”

 

For Indian students and tech professionals — who form the largest H-1B applicant pool — the message is becoming increasingly clear: the US wants fewer mass applications and more highly paid, highly educated workers.

 

For Indian students, the data is particularly important because Indians dominate the US international student ecosystem, especially in STEM, engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence and data science programmes. 

 

At the same time, USCIS said only 17.7% of selected H-1B registrations this year fell into the lowest wage category, signalling a deliberate effort by the administration to prioritise higher-paid talent. 

 

"This data is a clear sign that the days of abusing the program with mass, low-wage registrations are over, and that the program is better serving its intended purpose of attracting highly skilled foreign workers and protecting the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities of American workers," USIC said in a statement.

 

USCIS framed the decline as evidence that abuse of the system is reducing. For years, critics argued that parts of the H-1B system were being flooded with mass applications from outsourcing and consulting firms offering lower wages. The Trump administration now says it is moving the programme back toward its original purpose of attracting highly skilled foreign workers while protecting American jobs and salaries.

 

"These changes are all good, in the sense of being less bad -- but only the real solution is to abolish the H-1B programme altogether (along with OPT, and more)," Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies, said in a post on X.

 

Indians make up  71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to the USCIS data, with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.

 

On September 19 last year, Trump signed a proclamation 'Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers' that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $1,00,000.

 

The H-1B programme has historically been one of the biggest migration routes into the US for Indian tech workers, especially through large outsourcing firms, consulting companies and technology service providers. But the latest USCIS messaging suggests the system is increasingly favouring direct hiring, specialised expertise and premium talent over large-scale volume hiring models.

 

That could make the H-1B process tougher for entry-level applicants and lower-paid technology workers, while improving prospects for highly specialised professionals in fields like AI, advanced engineering, research and emerging technologies. Graduates from US universities may also gain a stronger advantage over overseas applicants without American degrees.