https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/04/16/h-1b-more-advanced-degree-holders-selected-in-this-years-lottery-feds-say/ > More H-1B visa applications for workers with advanced degrees from U.S. colleges and universities were selected in the main lottery for the visa this year compared to last year, federal authorities said Tuesday. > The agency, following President Donald Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, tweaked this year’s lottery for 65,000 H-1B visas, saying the change would favor holders of a U.S. master’s degree or higher. An additional 20,000 visas for such applicants are issued under a related process in the lottery, for a total of 85,000 new H-1Bs per year.