H-1B registrations – New USCIS figures show a sharp fall in properly submitted H-1B applications for the 2027 allocation after the Trump administration tightened wage rules and made new filings more expensive. The agency says the program is shifting toward higher-paid, higher-skil
Thursday morning, USCIS posted a message on X that landed like a headline: a major drop in “properly submitted” H-1B applications for the 2027 allocation—after the Trump administration changed how the work-based visa is allocated.
The numbers were stark. For fiscal year 2026, the count of properly submitted applications was 343,981. For 2027, it fell to 211,600—a 38.5 percent drop.
USCIS said in its X post that these changes were working. The agency framed the decline as evidence that “mass. low-wage registrations” were no longer the norm. insisting that the “days of abusing the program” are over. It also tied the reforms to a broader aim: protecting the wages. working conditions. and job opportunities of American workers while still attracting highly skilled foreign workers.
The administration’s changes are aimed directly at the controversy that has dogged the H-1B for years: employers accused of gaming the system for cheaper labor rather than filling roles that require advanced skills. USCIS said Thursday the shift is visible in who is being selected.
One measure the agency highlighted was education level. USCIS said 71.5 percent of selected immigrants held U.S. master’s degrees or higher, up from 57 percent the year before. The agency’s point is clear in its description—foreign students who studied in the United States are applying and then being granted H-1Bs.
USCIS also emphasized salary outcomes by breaking approvals into wage categories. It said it was “closing the door” on low-wage workers, citing that 17.7 percent of all approvals fell into the lowest-wage category.
The drop in applications has already become the center of a fresh political fight over what H-1B reform should look like. Supporters of stricter rules see the decline as proof that enforcement can change incentives. Critics say it’s still not enough.
Backlash was immediate from people who want approvals halted altogether at a time when many tech workers already in the U.S. are losing their jobs.
Connor O’Brien. a fellow at the Institute for Progress who focuses on high-skilled immigration. told Newsweek that the data shows “modestly” different outcomes under the administration’s new weighted lottery. He said the result still doesn’t go far enough. arguing that replacing the lottery with a salary-based ranking would “massively boost” the average salary of new H-1B workers and better select for top talent. He also said a salary-based ranking would protect American workers from lower-wage competition and. over time. raise “tens of billions of dollars in additional federal tax revenue.” O’Brien added that Congressional Republicans can add an H-1B salary ranking provision to their reconciliation package set to be voted on soon.
On the social media side, the criticism reflected a familiar theme: some commenters argued that the jobs H-1B holders are getting should go to American-born workers.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies—which advocates for a more restrictive U.S. immigration system—wrote on X that the changes are “good” only because they are “less bad. ” but he called the real solution “to abolish the H-1B program altogether (along with OPT [Optional Practical Training]. and more).”.
Not everyone saw the shift as a disappointment. Michael Taiwo. an entrepreneur who frequently posts about immigration. praised what he described as a real-world advantage for people already in the United States. He said many people he knows “got it this year because they essentially stopped the competition from abroad with the $100K fee. ” adding. “I knew this was going to help those already in the States when it was rolled out.”.
The facts USCIS chose to spotlight line up with the argument the administration is making: fewer “properly submitted” applications, and a profile of selected workers that trends toward higher salaries and more advanced degrees.
USCIS has not said the story ends there. But lawmakers are already making their own moves. Some lawmakers are trying to scrap the H-1B program altogether through legislation, even as USCIS has given no indication it will do so.
For now, the next step is procedural. The next year’s H-1B allocation is already complete, and the next registration window is expected to open early next year.
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