Federal Agency
Appears in 4 stories
USCIS runs the H-1B cap lottery and processes petitions for the 85,000 annual visas. - Administering H-1B program; enforcing fraud crackdown
On December 29, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security formally published its final rule replacing the H-1B lottery with wage-weighted selection in the Federal Register. Starting February 27, 2026, a software engineer offered $150,000 (Level IV wage) gets four entries in the pool; one offered $65,000 (Level I) gets one entry—an 8.5% selection chance versus the prior 25% random odds. The change targets fraud: 758,994 registrations competed for 85,000 slots in FY 2024, with 408,891 duplicate submissions for the same people, up 140% from the year before. Shell companies flooded the system; Disney laid off American IT staff and made them train H-1B replacements paid 40% less. On December 24, a federal judge upheld the separate $100,000 H-1B fee Trump imposed in September, rejecting a U.S. Chamber of Commerce lawsuit.
Updated Dec 29, 2025
USCIS built the FRP machinery—and now has to dismantle it cleanly or face lawsuits. - Administered FRP intake and now unwinds cases and parole-linked benefits
DHS just turned a promised “legal pathway” into a ticking clock. A Federal Register notice published December 15, 2025 terminates every Family Reunification Parole program tied to seven countries—and tells people already here that their parole will end on January 14, 2026.
Updated Dec 15, 2025
Approves H-1B petitions, but does not issue visa stamps — consulates do. - Not the decision-maker for visa stamps, but its approvals trigger consular stamping demand
The State Department didn’t just change a form. It changed the vibe of the visa interview. Starting December 15, 2025, H-1B workers and H-4 spouses and kids applying for visa stamps abroad get an “online presence review” — and they’re told to make their social profiles public so officers can look.
USCIS is where the $100,000 policy becomes real paperwork and real denials. - Processing gatekeeper; guidance defines scope of who pays
The Trump administration didn’t just tighten H‑1B visas. It put a $100,000 toll booth on “new” petitions—and dared employers to pay up. Now twenty states are trying to blow up that toll booth in federal court, calling it an illegal end-run around Congress.
Updated Dec 13, 2025
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