The USA government has come up with the new H1B wage-based selection process rule system, which was concluded and then published on Monday, 29th December 2025.
They went from a proposal in September to a final rule; it’s a 300-page rule.
For most people who are not aware of it, this H1B wage-based selection process is going to be applicable in the upcoming lottery season, meaning the March 2026 lottery will be a wage-based selection process.
Campus Now now shares more insight into eligibility, chances of qualifying, and other details in this report. Remember am not an immigration lawyer, but the information gathered from them.
So The H1B lottery has been completely random. Everybody had a fair and square chance, like everybody was on the same page.
Everyone gets one lottery ticket when they go into the lottery, and when you pick the name, and if you get it, your name is picked in the lottery. If you don’t get it, then your name is not picked.
With the wage-based selection process, what they’re going to do is look at your SOC code. They’re going to look at what the wage level is based on where you are located, and based on that, they’re going to give you chances.
For example, if you are on level one, that means you only get one chance in the lottery ticket in that lottery season. For 2026, if you’re on level one, you get one ticket. If you’re level two, you get two tickets. And If you’re level three, you get three tickets. If you’re level four, then you get four tickets.
That’s kind of the thesis of it. The higher the salary you earn, the higher the chances, the higher the probability you have of getting picked in this lottery season.
If you have done masters in the United States, then you do get a slightly higher probability of getting picked in the lottery.
Why?
Because, for instance, let’s say you are level three in and you have done masters from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, STEM degree, that means you have three chances, compared to a bachelor’s in India, Nigeria, or any other African country.
The employer and immigration lawyer have to do a lot more work when it comes to filing for you for the lottery.
Remember that, if you make more money, you get more chances to get picked in the lottery season.
Pritesh Jagani is a career coach and senior product manager based in California. He revealed more things about these wage base selection process.
According to jagani “The interesting situation is something like mine. I live in Chicago, California, which is a smaller town, and the wage levels are much cheaper compared to the Bay Area.”
How the wage-based selection process works
• The pictures below explain wage levels for software engineers in relation to the H-1B lottery system, utilizing data from the Department of Labor.
• The website flag.dol.gov provides necessary data without needing an account.
• For software engineers in California, different locations yield different wage levels; San Francisco is a primary comparison point due to its Bay Area significance.
• Level one wage for a software engineer in San Francisco is $135,699, which translates to one lottery ticket. Higher salaries garner more tickets: level two ($161,637) yields two tickets and so forth.
• Pritesh uses a hypothetical scenario of working remotely from Chico, California, with a company based in the Bay Area, illustrating how location affects wage level eligibility.
• Level four wage for Chico is $152,000, allowing for four lottery chances, demonstrating the potential benefit of remote work.
• The document notes potential pitfalls if a worker’s company is in a lower-paying area, but they reside in a high-cost city, which could limit lottery ticket eligibility.
How do we find what our role is, like a software engineer? It’s much easier
• To determine one’s role as a software engineer or similar position, the website onetonline.org offers a resource where users can input their job title to find related roles.
• Job roles may not have a direct correlation between department labor and company designations; hence, using a website like O*NET, onetonline.org, helps clarify these distinctions.
• For the position of a product manager, users can search and compare job responsibilities and corresponding SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) codes, which can help establish a proper classification for their role.
• Salary comparisons indicate that product and marketing managers typically earn more than software engineers, with starting levels in San Francisco noted as $183,102 for higher roles.
• Users can input their specific job titles or application codes in O*NET to find relevant information on their roles, including SOC codes.
• The process may require reviewing various suggested roles, particularly for managerial positions, to find the most accurate classification.
Does this impact the H1B cap exemption?
It does not impact the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) exam because again, this is to enter the lottery system. The Cap exam is exempt from being in the cap. You are exempt from the lottery.
This change does not impact the cap exam. This rule, according to the immigration lawyer, also does not impact the people who already have an H1B, and maybe they don’t fall under level four, three, or maybe they are level two. This does not impact people who already have.
This is for people who are going inside the lottery moving forward. It does not impact the people who have existing H1Bs. Same for change of employers and for renewals.
That’s what the lawyer said. And, we think that’s what we understand from the document. Am not an immigration lawyer.
Finally, if this is your third attempt and you are possibly under pressure because this may be your last attempt now, with the wage base, your odds are probably higher.
I don’t know your situation. You could again, people ask if they could do CPT 01, etc. December to January should have been the best time to start looking into a 01 talent-based visa or EB1. Maybe you do qualify for those, and also get the profile evaluated.
Lastly, The Registration Dates for wages based lottery 2026 are expected to be from March 4–19, 2026.