The Department of Homeland Security may be intending to revive a proposal that was originally mooted in 2011, which requires preregistration by H-1B US visa petitioners for the cap lottery and to be able to submit their petitions only after successfully winning cap numbers. The update says that the DHS also intends to suggest a priority system for the allocation of H-1B US visa cap numbers, ensuring priority is given to the highest skilled and most highly paid.
Alterations to wages for H-1B US visa workers are also being considered. If the changes follow the normal process, which enables time for ‘Notice and Comment’, a system that generally takes many months, it is unlikely that they will come into effect with the upcoming cap, filing for which is expected to begin in April 2018.