A new regulation has been suggested to enhance wage protections for H-1B and PERM employment in the United States. The Department of Labor has submitted a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget, titled Improving Wage Protections for H-1B and PERM Employment.
The proposed salary increases for H-1B visa holders aim to prioritize American workers by making it more challenging for US companies to employ foreign employees.
The specifics regarding Wage Protections for H-1B visas remain confidential; however, a comparable proposal was introduced during the previous Trump administration.
In 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) under the Trump Administration completed a regulation aimed at overhauling the prevailing wage system, which involved increasing the minimum wage standards. This regulation faced legal challenges and was eventually discarded by the DOL during the Biden administration, which had initially planned to introduce its own regulation but subsequently deprioritized and eliminated the initiative from its regulatory agenda following multiple delays.
“The move follows Trump’s 2025 proclamation directing the DOL to rewrite prevailing wage regulations. Details aren’t public yet, but this could significantly impact H-1B and PERM costs. Employers should be watching closely,” Immigration Attorney Emily Neumann wrote in a post on X.
Department of Labor’s 2021 proposal
In 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) put forth a proposal to revise the method by which it determines prevailing wages for foreign workers entering the United States via specific visa programs, such as H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and permanent labor certifications.
The proposal was specifically aimed at the Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) and permanent labor certifications. The DOL suggested modifications to the calculation of its four-tiered wage structure. These tiers are derived from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The main goal is to ensure that the wage levels more accurately represent the earnings of similarly employed US workers. The DOL aims to prevent the circumstance where the employment of foreign workers compromises wages or reduces job possibilities accessible to the domestic labor force by raising or adjusting these wage requirements.
The impact of proposal
In a post on X, James Blunt said that this would significantly affect the H-1B program and PERM employment. It would essentially exclude H-1B workers by significantly raising prevailing salaries, especially during initial applications and extensions.
The technology, healthcare, employment, and employer-sponsored immigration industries will be severely disrupted if the proposal survives the regulation process, Blunt said, adding that it is almost certain that additional jobs will be sent abroad.
For instance, positions that previously offered around $120,000 would suddenly necessitate approximately $230,000 to $240,000 to remain compliant, which applies to extensions and transfers as well, not solely new applications. The ensuing chaos compelled a rapid retraction of the rule.