The Trump administration on Friday proposed major changes to the H-1B application process with the aim of awarding the visa to the most skilled and highest paid foreign workers. Under a new proposed merit-based rule, a notice for which was issued Friday, companies employing foreign workers on the H-1B visa ' under the Congressional mandated annual caps -- would have to electronically register with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during a designated registration period.

The H1-B visa has an annual numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year as mandated by the Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master's degree or higher are exempt from the cap. The USCIS would also reverse the order allowing it to select H-1B petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption.