H1b Lottery Results
# The H-1B visa program, established in 1990, allows U.
S.
employers to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations.
Due to an annual cap of 85,000 visas (65,000 for general applicants and 20,000 for advanced degree holders), demand far exceeds supply, leading to a lottery system since 2014.
While intended to distribute visas fairly, the lottery has been criticized for its randomness, corporate exploitation, and systemic biases.
The H-1B lottery system, rather than ensuring a merit-based selection process, perpetuates inequities, benefits large corporations at the expense of smaller employers and genuine talent, and fails to address the broader inefficiencies in U.
S.
immigration policy.
In 2023, U.
S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported a record 780,884 H-1B registrations a staggering since 2021.
Investigations revealed that some outsourcing firms and tech giants submitted for the same applicant to inflate odds.
- A Bloomberg Law investigation (2023) found that a single Indian IT firm filed thousands of registrations for a small pool of workers, artificially increasing selection chances.
- The agency introduced new rules in 2024 to curb abuse by requiring a unique passport number per beneficiary.
Yet, enforcement remains weak, and loopholes persist.
The 20,000-visa master’s cap was designed to favor U.
S.
-educated graduates.
However, research by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP, 2022) shows that are still filed for workers with bachelor’s degrees, as companies prioritize cost over qualifications.
- A Duke University study (2021) found that Indian IT firms dominate the lottery, often hiring mid-level engineers rather than specialized talent, contradicting the program’s original intent.
Smaller firms and startups struggle to compete with tech giants like Google and Amazon, which file thousands of petitions annually.
- A 2023 NFAP report revealed that accounted for in 2022, squeezing out smaller employers.
- Startups lose skilled candidates to larger firms, stifling innovation and economic diversity.
Proponents argue that: - The lottery is the only fair way to handle excess demand.
- Restricting H-1Bs could harm U.
S.
competitiveness in tech and healthcare.
- Reforms like higher wages (per 2021 DOL rules) mitigate exploitation.
- A Harvard Business Review (2023) analysis found that high-skilled STEM PhDs often lose out to bachelor’s holders due to sheer luck.
- Economic Policy Institute (2022) research shows H-1B workers in IT outsourcing earn than their U.
S.
counterparts.
- Canada’s Express Entry system prioritizes skills, education, and language proficiency a model the U.
S.
could adopt.
The lottery’s flaws reflect deeper issues in U.
S.
immigration policy: - Top global talent faces rejection, pushing them to Canada or Europe.
- Tech lobbies resist reforms to maintain cheap labor pipelines.
- Congress has failed to pass comprehensive reforms since 1990, leaving USCIS to patch a broken system.
The H-1B lottery, while designed as a stopgap measure, has become a symbol of dysfunction.
Its reliance on chance, susceptibility to manipulation, and bias toward corporate interests undermine its original purpose.
Without structural reforms such as a merit-based points system or stricter wage enforcement the U.
S.
risks losing its edge in global talent acquisition while perpetuating an unjust immigration bottleneck.
The stakes are high: the future of innovation, economic fairness, and America’s competitive standing hang in the balance.
- U.
S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
(2024).
- National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).
(2023).
- Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
(2022).
- Harvard Business Review.
(2023).
- Bloomberg Law.
(2023)