The Trump administration has proposed increasing the minimum salary requirements for H-1B workers by roughly 30 percent across multiple experience levels. The proposal was introduced by the U.S. Department of Labor on March 27 and is currently open for public comments until May 26.
If approved, this would affect not just H-1B visas but also related categories such as H-1B1, E-3 and PERM labor certification programs.
The Department of Labor said that the existing wage benchmarks were designed nearly two decades ago and no longer reflect present-day labor market realities in the United States. The proposed regulation, titled “Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States,” argues that the current system allows companies to hire foreign workers at wages lower than what many American workers receive for comparable jobs.
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The government says the changes are aimed at strengthening wage protections and ensuring that foreign hiring does not undercut local salaries.
The proposal increases the wage threshold across four skills ranging from entry-level workers to highly experienced professionals. Entry level H-1B workers could see a rise in their salary from about $73,279 annually to nearly $97,746. Level II workers will see a salary hike from roughly $98,987 to $123,212. Level III workers could see their salary rise from around $121,979 to $147,333, while Level IV will see a wage hike from about $144,202 to $175,464 annually.
The actual numbers may vary depending on the city, occupation and prevailing market conditions.
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A Bloomberg report mentioned that this proposed salary hike would cost the biggest employers of white-collar foreign talent at least $18 billion in the first 12 months, according to an analysis by immigration data companies Lawfully and Threshold. The study also found that the annual cost could reach as high as $43 billion within three years — when most existing H-1B visas will have to be renewed at the higher level.
In addition to the financial hit taken by employers, this move is likely to make things difficult for new employees, as their employers hesitate to spend the extra money.
This comes amid growing debates around the H-1B visa. President Donald Trump had in his campaign for his second term promised to clamp down on immigration. While the majority of his efforts have been directed at illegal immigration, he’s also been trying to curb opportunities for professionals to come to the U.S., saying that the system was rife with abuse and exploitation.