38.5% Drop In US H1-B Visa Registrations For 2026-27 Window | India Business Hour

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]in term veil.

[00:00:01]The US has seen a nearly 40% drop in eligible H-1B visa registrations in 2026-2027 window compared to a year ago. The USCIS, which is in charge of the visa application process, says this along with the caliber of registrations is a sign that the administration's tighter visa norms are working. Dhananjay Khatri joins us now with more. Dhananjay, take us through the key numbers as well as what the data is telling us.

[00:00:29]Well, there has been a 38.5% drop in the number of H-1B visa applications received by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in the 2026-2027 window. This number has dropped from 3.43 lakh applications to 2.12 lakh applications. This is an important issue because the H-1B visas are the primary route for foreign skilled workers to enter the United States, particularly in sectors like the information technology, engineering, health care, and finance.

[00:00:57]And traditionally, the Indians have been the largest applicants and beneficiaries under this category.

[00:01:01]The reason that this number is significant because the 2026-2027 window is the first one to be operationalized since the Trump administration tightened the visa rules. Just to remind our viewers, the new USCIS rules follow a wage-based weighted selection system for the H-1B program. Earlier, this was a lottery system which was more random in nature.

[00:01:20]The US government had said that the new rules would do two things. First, it would reduce duplicacy and fraudulent registrations. And number two, it would give a higher weightage to applicants at higher wage levels, meaning only more qualified people are allowed to enter the country. The USCIS says that the numbers show that the new rules are working quite well. It says that 71.5% of selected applicants hold a US master's degree or higher, up from 57% last year.

[00:01:46]This means that the people who have done their higher education in the United States are applying for jobs there, which is being seen as a retention of the skilled talent. It also says that 17.7% of the selected registrations fell in the lowest wage category. To quote the USCIS, these skilled workers are making a real impact on our economy and we are closing the doors on the low wage and low skilled foreign labor pipeline.

[00:02:08]This data is a clear sign that the days of abusing the program with mass low wage registrations are over and that the program is better serving its intended purpose of attracting highly skilled foreign workers into the United States and providing better job opportunities for the American workers.

[00:02:24]However, here's an interesting trend.

[00:02:26]Official data shows that the number numbers had already started falling in the window before the new rules kicked in. Total visa registrations were down 39% in 2025-26 but are down only 25% this time. Similarly, selected registrations are down only 11% this year but had fallen to 28% the previous year already.

[00:02:46]However, it's clear that the stricter visa rules seems to be working now. Back to you.

[00:02:51]Thank you Anshuman. Thanks for joining us. Well, from For over 25 years, CNBC TV18 has been the guiding force for investors steering them through the markets.

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