The annual H-1B work visa lottery is underway in the United States, and immigration experts warn that new rules governing the selection process could hurt American businesses that rely on foreign skilled workers.

The H-1B programme allows US employers to sponsor foreign nationals in specialty occupations. Each year, demand for the visa exceeds the supply of available slots, so the federal government runs a lottery to select which registrations move forward. This year's round opened against a changed rulebook, and observers say the consequences for employers are already visible.

WBUR, which reported the story, spoke with experts who track the programme. Their central concern is direct: the new rules make it harder and more expensive for companies to secure the workers they need.

What has changed in the lottery?

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) runs the H-1B selection process. In recent years the agency has reworked how it picks registrations, moving away from the system employers had planned around for a decade.

The experts cited in the WBUR report say the current framework creates a burden for businesses. Companies must decide whether to register workers, pay the associated fees, and then wait on a random draw that offers no certainty of success. Firms that lose the lottery lose both the fee outlay and the planning time.

One line of criticism focuses on the incentive structure. Under the previous system, employers could file multiple registrations for the same worker through different entities, a practice that inflated the pool. The rule changes targeted that behaviour, but analysts quoted in the report argue the fixes have produced new complications of their own for legitimate employers.

Who is affected?

The affected parties fall into three broad groups.

• Employers, especially in technology, science, and engineering sectors that hire foreign skilled workers on H-1B visas each year.
• Foreign workers, who must wait on a lottery outcome before they can take up or continue a US position.
• Universities and staffing firms, which handle large volumes of registrations and must adjust their internal processes to the new rules.

The experts interviewed by WBUR said the changed process hits businesses in a concrete way: when a company cannot secure a visa for a needed worker, it loses a hire it has already invested in. That loss lands on project timelines and workforce planning.

Why do experts say the rules hurt business?

The core argument in the WBUR report is economic. Businesses build staffing plans around the H-1B calendar. When the selection rules shift, those plans wobble.

Experts quoted in the report point to a structural problem: the lottery remains random, and the number of available visas has not kept pace with demand. Changing the mechanics of the draw does not change the underlying shortage. What it does change is the cost and complexity of participating.

Critics also note the uncertainty itself carries a price. A firm that sponsors a candidate, pays registration costs, and prepares an offer may come away with nothing after the draw. Repeated across an entire hiring season, that uncertainty pushes some employers to look outside the United States for talent.

What happens next?

The lottery is now in progress. Registrations have been submitted, and selected applicants will move to the petition stage, where employers file full H-1B applications with USCIS.

For employers who lose the draw, the options narrow. Some wait for the next fiscal year's round. Some look at other visa categories. Some hire the candidate abroad instead.

The experts cited by WBUR argue that the current rules push in the wrong direction: they add friction for companies that operate within the law, without resolving the imbalance between visa supply and employer demand.

Any employer or worker with questions about the current process should consult the official USCIS guidance on H-1B selection, which remains the authoritative source for deadlines, fees, and eligibility requirements.

The lottery continues, and with it the concern that the new rules will cost American businesses the workers they came to the programme to find.