1月7日，美国公民和移民服务局宣布了一项最终规则，将修改H-1B抽签选择程序，按照申请人的工资水平的从高到低来确定发放签证顺序。此举意在保护美国工人的经济利益，同时激励美国雇主提供更高的工资和更有竞争力的岗位，以满足员工需求并保持全球竞争力。    

这一措施将主要影响寻求提交H-1B上限申请的潜在请愿人提交的H-1B登记。不过不受配额限制的H-1B申请也会受到波及，如高等教育机构，与高等教育机构相关的非盈利组织，非营利研究机构或政府机构的H-1B申请。

H-1B常规配额和H-1B高学历豁免均适用，但不会改变两者之间的选择顺序。根据新规显示，申请人将被划分成由高到低四个工资级别，当H-1B签证初始申请者数量超过85,000份时，签证将首先颁发给四个工资类别中最高级别的人，然后颁发给第三高级别的人，依次往下直到所以配额分发完为止。

如果该H-1B新规最终形成法案，按照薪酬从高到低的顺序来给予外国技术人员签证，可以想见的是，经验欠缺的、年轻的外国劳工获得H-1B签证的可能性会降低。这意味着那些有潜力的申请人将失去机会，因为基于他们的工作经验，很可能无法获得更高的薪酬。

最终规定计划于2021年1月8在《联邦公告》（Federal Register）公布，公布的60天后生效。如果最终裁决在没有任何反对的情况下生效，那么H-1B的随机抽签将成为历史。新的基于工资的H-1B选择程序将适用于2021年4月进行的H-1B签证申请。

USCIS Modifies H-1B Selection Process to Prioritize Wages

Rule Expected to Protect the Economic Interests of American Workers

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced a final rule that will modify the H-1B cap selection process, amend current lottery procedures, and prioritize wages to protect the economic interests of U.S. workers and better ensure the most highly skilled foreign workers benefit from the temporary employment program.

Modifying the H-1B cap selection process will incentivize employers to offer higher salaries, and/or petition for higher-skilled positions, and establish a more certain path for businesses to achieve personnel needs and remain globally competitive.

“The H-1B temporary visa program has been exploited and abused by employers primarily seeking to fill entry-level positions and reduce overall business costs,” said USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow. “The current H-1B random selection process makes it difficult for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the program to compete for the best and brightest international workforce, and has predominately resulted in the annual influx of foreign labor placed in low-wage positions at the expense of U.S. workers.”

This effort will only affect H-1B registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) submitted by prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. It will be implemented for both the H-1B regular cap and the H-1B advanced degree exemption, but it will not change the order of selection between the two as established by the H-1B registration final rule.

The final rule will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. DHS previously published a notice of proposed rulemaking on Nov. 2, 2020, and carefully considered the public comments received before deciding to publish the proposed regulations as a final rule.

原文链接：https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-modifies-h-1b-selection-process-to-prioritize-wages