President Donald Trump’s latest policy pivot tosses out the old random lottery for H-1B visas, replacing it with a merit-based system favoring higher-skilled, higher-paid applicants, while slapping a hefty $100,000 fee on some new arrivals starting in 2026.

This isn’t just a tweak; it’s a full-on rework aimed at nudging companies to hire more American graduates instead of leaning on foreign labor.

From Lottery to Merit: A Bold Change

The new rule, set to kick in on Feb. 27, 2026, for the FY 2027 registration season, prioritizes applicants with top-tier skills and bigger paychecks over the luck-of-the-draw method.

As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser put it, “The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers.”

Well, there’s a shocker—turns out gaming the system to undercut American wages wasn’t exactly the congressional dream, and this weighted selection might just steer things back toward fairness.

American Workers vs. Corporate Profits

Trump’s been vocal about his frustration with companies exploiting H-1B visas while axing American jobs, and the numbers back up the outrage.

One IT firm, approved for nearly 1,700 H-1B workers in FY 2025, turned around and laid off 2,400 Americans in Oregon last July.

Another company slashed 27,000 domestic jobs since 2022 while securing approvals for over 25,000 H-1B workers—talk about a gut punch to local talent.

Foreign Labor Still Floods In

Don’t pop the champagne just yet, though—data shows foreign STEM workers in the U.S. doubled from 1.2 million in 2000 to nearly 2.5 million by 2019, with their share of tech and math jobs jumping from 17.7% to 26.1%.

Trump’s own proclamation pins much of this surge on H-1B abuses, but critics point out that other visa programs like J-1, L-1, and OPT still keep the foreign labor pipeline wide open.

This reform might nudge the needle, but with so many alternative routes, don’t expect a tidal wave of opportunity for American grads overnight.

Business Pushback and Legal Battles

Business groups aren’t thrilled, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s chief counsel Daryl Joseffer lamenting, “The $100,000 fee makes H-1B visas cost-prohibitive for businesses, especially small- and medium-sized businesses that can least afford it.”

Despite their courtroom loss—with a judge affirming Trump’s broad authority—they’re mulling more legal challenges, while supporters cheer the win as a green light for tougher oversight and potential bans on H-1B use by federal contractors.

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is helping Trump navigate the tug-of-war between voter frustration and corporate lobbying, a balancing act tighter than a high-wire in a windstorm.