Overview

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he is directly involved in changing the H‑1B program and the green card system, calling the current visa setup “terrible” and a “scam.”
• A draft regulation to prioritize H‑1B allocations by earnings, replacing the lottery, was approved by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs earlier this month.
• The administration is promoting a proposed ‘Gold Card’ that would offer permanent residency to foreigners investing $5 million, with Lutnick claiming 250,000 interested applicants and $1.25 trillion in potential investment.
• Indian nationals receive over 70% of new H‑1B visas, positioning Indian professionals and employers to be most affected by a shift to wage‑based selection.
• Critics argue tighter limits on skilled visas could push companies to expand remote hiring or outsource roles to countries such as India rather than fill them with U.S. workers.