What the H-1B changes mean for advising international students

The pathway, unchanged

An F-1 student who completes a degree can work for 12 months on Optional Practical Training. Graduates of designated STEM programs can extend that by 24 months. To stay beyond OPT, most students need an H-1B, which is capped at 85,000 new visas a year and allocated by a selection process run each March. Employers that are cap-exempt, meaning universities, nonprofits affiliated with universities, and nonprofit research organizations, file H-1B petitions outside the cap and outside the lottery.

None of that changed. What changed is the fee on some petitions and the way the cap is allocated.

Change one: the $100,000 fee

A presidential proclamation on September 19, 2025 imposed a $100,000 payment on certain H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025.

USCIS guidance on October 20, 2025 narrowed who pays it. The fee applies to new petitions for beneficiaries who are outside the United States and don't hold a valid H-1B visa, and to petitions that request consular processing, port-of-entry notification or pre-flight inspection for someone inside the country.

It does not apply to petitions requesting a change of status for someone already in the United States, which is the route an F-1 student on OPT or STEM OPT takes. Extensions, amendments and change-of-employer petitions are also exempt, provided USCIS grants the request. A student whose employer files a change-of-status petition and has it approved doesn't trigger the fee, even if they later travel abroad for visa stamping.

The trap is departure. If a student leaves the United States while a change-of-status petition is pending, USCIS can treat the change-of-status request as abandoned, convert the petition to consular processing, and the fee applies. National interest exceptions exist but USCIS has described them as extraordinarily rare.

The proclamation is under litigation. Advise on current law and flag that it may change.

Change two: weighted selection

The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule on December 29, 2025, effective February 27, 2026, replacing the random H-1B lottery with weighted selection. It applied to the FY2027 registration window, March 4 to 19, 2026.

Each registration is assigned the highest Department of Labor OEWS wage level, from I to IV, that the offered salary meets or exceeds for the occupation code and area of intended employment. Level I registrations get one entry in the selection pool. Level II gets two, Level III three, Level IV four. Selection is still random, but a Level IV registration has four times the entries of a Level I registration.

Wage level isn't absolute pay. It reflects where the offered wage sits relative to others in the same occupation and metro area, which the Labor Department uses as a proxy for seniority and job complexity. A salary that's high in absolute terms can still be Level I or II. New graduates are Level I or II almost by definition.

The petition filed after selection must match the registration, including wage level, occupation code and area. An employer that registers at Level III for a role whose duties only support Level I must be prepared to justify the higher wage. The rule includes integrity provisions aimed at exactly that.

What it means in practice

Your students' odds per registration went down relative to senior candidates. Under the old lottery every registration was equal. Now a new graduate's registration carries a quarter of the weight of a senior worker's.

Attempts matter less than level. The old advice was to maximize lottery attempts through STEM OPT. Three Level I attempts over three years total three entries. One Level III registration is three entries in one year. The runway still helps, but it no longer compensates for being entry-level.

Employer choice matters more than major choice. Cap-exempt employers skip the lottery entirely. An employer willing to offer a Level II wage doubles a student's entries. An employer that will only register at Level I is offering the weakest path available.

Geography changes the level. The same salary can be Level II in one metro area and Level I in another. Where a student takes the job affects their odds.

And for some students, the arithmetic now says the United States isn't the likely outcome. Advising should be able to say so early enough that a student can plan for other destinations rather than discovering it after three failed registrations.

An advising checklist

Learn the OEWS wage levels for the occupations your international students most often enter, in the metros where they most often go. The Department of Labor publishes them. Knowing that a $78,000 software offer in one city is Level II and in another is Level I is now part of the job.

Change the sponsorship question. "Do you sponsor?" is no longer enough. Students should ask whether the employer files H-1B registrations, at what wage level they'd register this role, and whether they're cap-exempt.

Keep a list of cap-exempt employers relevant to your programs. University research labs, teaching hospitals affiliated with universities, and nonprofit research institutes are the obvious ones. They're often overlooked because they don't recruit like corporations.

Coordinate with the international student office. They know the immigration mechanics. You know the employers. Neither office alone can advise well on this.

Flag the travel risk. A student who goes home while a change-of-status petition is pending can lose the path. It's the kind of thing nobody thinks to mention.

Document what you told students and when. Rules under litigation change, and a student who acted on advice that was correct at the time should be able to show it.

Common misreadings

"The $100,000 fee applies to my students." For a student changing status from F-1 inside the United States, it doesn't, as long as USCIS grants the change of status.

"STEM OPT gives you three shots so it's still the best route." Attempts matter less than wage level now. STEM OPT still helps. It no longer solves the problem by itself.

"A high salary means a high wage level." Wage level is relative to the occupation and location. A high salary in a high-paying occupation and metro can still be Level I.

"The lottery is the only path." Cap-exempt employers exist and don't go through it.

This piece is a summary for career services staff. It isn't legal advice. International student offices and immigration counsel should be the source of record, and both rules are subject to ongoing litigation.

A summary for career services staff. Not legal advice, and both rules are under litigation.