H‑1B goes wage‑based; visas revoked en masse
The U.S. moved the H‑1B selection to a wage‑based system via a new Form I‑29, shifting priority to higher‑paid applicants reported. At the same time, over 6,000 student visas were revoked in the past year—universities lost $1.1B and international enrollments fell ~17%—adding fresh uncertainty for CS grads and OPT holders reported.
DHS published the final rule federalregister.gov on Dec. 29, 2025 and set the regulation’s effective date as Feb. 27, 2026 to apply to the FY2027 H‑1B cap season. USCIS issued a new edition of Form I‑129 dated Feb. 27, 2026 uscis.gov and will reject prior editions for petitions postmarked on or after April 1, 2026. visahq.com USCIS opened the FY2027 electronic H‑1B registration window at noon Eastern on March 4 and closed it at noon Eastern on March 19, 2026 uscis.gov, with the $215 registration fee and selection notifications expected by March 31, 2026. natlawreview.com Employers must report the DOL Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage level, SOC code, and work location at registration diraimondoschroeder.com, and DHS’s weighted process ties 1–4 “chances” to the four prevailing‑wage levels used in selection. fragomen.com USCIS guidance and practitioner alerts warn that a petition can be denied or an approval revoked if the wage level claimed at registration is later found inconsistent with the petition’s wage or LCA. diraimondoschroeder.com Premium processing fees were also adjusted effective March 1, 2026 under USCIS fee rule changes. uscis.gov The State Department publicly attributed many recent student visa revocations to criminal arrests and alleged violations — listing DUIs, assault, burglary and saying roughly 200–300 cases involved alleged “support for terrorism,” according to a State Department official. cbsnews.com NAFSA’s Fall 2025 analysis projected the decline in new international enrollments would translate to a loss of about 23,000 U.S. jobs in the higher‑education ecosystem. nafsa.org The Open Doors 2025 report recorded roughly 1.18 million international students hosted by U.S. colleges and universities in the 2024–25 academic year. iie.org
