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US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the H-1B lottery needs to be “fixed” and the US should only give “highly-skilled jobs” to the “most highly-skilled people”
US President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, as commerce secretary Howard Lutnick (L) looks on. (Image: AFP/File)
Signalling “a significant number of changes” in the H-1B process before February 2026, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick questioned the lottery system in place to acquire this work visa.
Lutnick said he recently had a conversation with heads of two of the biggest tech companies in the world, and “they said doing a lottery for skilled workers coming into America is bizarre”.
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He questioned why a nation should bring in skilled workers through a lottery. “That just doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
The commerce secretary said the H-1B lottery needs to be “fixed” and the US should only give “highly-skilled jobs” to the “most highly-skilled people”.
His comments come days after the Trump administration announced a one-time fee of USD 100,000 for new H-1B work visas, an order that will impact Indian professionals looking to work in the United States on the temporary visas. The new fee requirement will not apply to current visa holders and is a one-time payment applicable only to new petitions.
“This procedure and process goes into effect in February of 2026, so my guess is going to be, there are going to be a significant number of changes between now and 2026,” he said in an interview with NewsNation.
Lutnick further said with the USD 100,000 fee on applications, “at least it shouldn’t be overrun with these people. But I think you’re going to see a real thoughtful change going forward. And that’s what I expect will happen”.
“There’s going to be a variety of changes; they’re talking about changes – how to get the lottery, should it still be a lottery? But that will all be resolved by February,” he said, adding that “as of right now”, there is going to be a one-time fee of USD 100,000 to get in.
‘H-1B PROCESS SORT OF BUTCHERED ALONG THE WAY’
Lutnick said the H-1B process, which was set up in 1990 and “sort of butchered along the way”, needs to change. He said the visas are seven to 10 times “oversubscribed”, 74 percent of it is tech consulting.
“H-1B visas are for tech consultants? Like, somehow, that’s like important that tech consultants are onshore versus offshore. They’re all in other countries anyway,” he said, adding that about 4 percent of the visas were for educators and doctors.
He said doctors and educators with high degrees should be able to come in but if companies want to hire engineers, they should employ only the highly paid ones.
“The idea of having tech consultants and trainees who are inexpensive should be eliminated. I have a strong opinion that way. I think the President’s right with me on those same topics…I am completely on the view that this idea that inexpensive tech consultants should be coming into this country and bringing their families, I find it just wrong, and so it sits wrong with me,” he said.
This month, the US Department of Labour also announced the launch of ‘Project Firewall’, an H-1B enforcement initiative aimed at safeguarding the rights, wages, and job opportunities of highly skilled American workers.
The initiative will ensure that employers prioritise qualified Americans when hiring workers and will hold employers accountable if they abuse the H1B visa process.
“Launching Project Firewall will help us ensure no employers are abusing H1B visas at the expense of our workforce,” US Secretary of Labour Lori Chavez-DeRemer had said in a statement.
Through Project Firewall, the department will conduct investigations of employers to maximise H-1B programme compliance. To achieve this goal, the Secretary of Labour will “personally certify the initiation of investigations” for the first time in the department’s history.
Violations may result in the collection of back wages owed to affected workers, the assessment of civil money penalties, and/or debarment from future use of the H1B programme for a prescribed period of time.
(With PTI inputs)
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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
September 30, 2025, 16:53 IST
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