# DOL Proposes Higher H-1B and PERM Wages — What Workers and Employers Need to Know > The Department of Labor wants to raise the minimum wages employers must pay H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM-sponsored workers — potentially the biggest prevailing wage overhaul in years. The goal: stop companies from using visa programs to undercut American workers with cheaper foreign labor. If finalized, this rule could raise costs for thousands of employers and reshape how H-1B salaries are set. Canonical URL: https://thevisapulse.com/updates/dol-h1b-prevailing-wage-hike-proposed-rule-2026 ## At a glance - **Policy status:** Proposal at publication - **Last verified:** Not recorded - **Human review:** No human review recorded - **Published:** 2026-03-27 - **Impact:** high - **Document type:** Proposed Rule - **Source agency:** Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration - **Document number:** 2026-06017 - **Visa types:** H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, EB-2, EB-3 Publication dates and impact ratings do not establish whether a policy is in force. Verify current status against the linked government evidence. See /about for our editorial process. ## Who is affected - H-1B workers and their sponsoring employers - H-1B1 visa holders (nationals of Chile and Singapore) - E-3 visa holders (Australian nationals) - EB-2 and EB-3 green card applicants via PERM - Employers filing Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) - F-1 students seeking H-1B sponsorship after OPT ## Key changes - DOL proposes to revise the formula for calculating prevailing wage levels across all four tiers based on updated BLS OEWS survey data - The change affects H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM (EB-2/EB-3) programs under a unified wage framework - Higher wage floors would require employers to offer salaries closer to what similarly employed US workers actually earn - The rule aims to reduce incentives to replace US workers with lower-paid foreign labor - Public comments are due by May 26, 2026 — no final effective date has been set ## What you should do Employers and affected workers should review the proposed rule at regulations.gov (docket ETA-2026-0001) and submit written comments by May 26, 2026 if the proposed wage changes would affect their hiring, sponsorship, or employment plans. The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a significant overhaul of the wage floors that US employers must meet when hiring H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM-sponsored workers. Published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2026, the proposed rule would revise how "prevailing wages" — the minimum salaries employers must offer to obtain labor certification — are calculated across all four tiers of the existing wage structure. ## At a Glance - **What:** DOL proposes to raise prevailing wage levels for H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM (EB-2/EB-3) programs by revising how wages are calculated from the BLS OEWS survey - **Who:** US employers sponsoring H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, or PERM workers; H-1B and green card applicants whose job offers depend on labor certification - **When:** Comment period closes May 26, 2026; no final rule effective date set yet - **Impact:** Employers may need to offer higher salaries to obtain labor certification, potentially raising costs and affecting hiring decisions ## What's Changing and Why Right now, DOL uses a four-tier wage system based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. Each tier reflects a different experience and education level — Level I is entry-level, Level IV is the most senior. DOL's concern: the current wage levels don't accurately reflect what US workers in similar roles actually earn, creating a loophole that lets employers hire foreign workers at below-market rates. The proposed rule would revise the formulas used to compute each wage tier so they better align with real-world US worker salaries. The stated goals are to: - **Close the wage gap** between what visa workers are paid and what similarly employed US workers earn - **Reduce displacement** of US workers by making it less financially attractive to replace them with lower-paid foreign labor - **Strengthen program integrity** across both temporary (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3) and permanent (EB-2, EB-3 via PERM) programs ## Who This Affects Most The scale here is significant. In FY 2024, DOL certified over 502,000 H-1B applications alone. Nearly 58% of PERM applications were filed on behalf of workers already on H-1B status — meaning a wage hike in one program ripples directly into the other. Of all H-1B Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) certified in FY 2024: - **19%** were at wage Level I (entry-level) - **44%** were at Level II - **21%** at Level III - **16%** at Level IV Workers at the lower wage tiers — especially Level I and II — would be most impacted if those floors are raised. Employers who rely on entry-level H-1B placements could face substantially higher payroll obligations. ## This Is Still a Proposal This is a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) — meaning the rule is **not final**. DOL is required to collect public comments before issuing a final rule, and the final version could look different based on that feedback. There is no effective date yet. ## What You Should Do **If you're an H-1B worker:** No action needed now, but watch this closely. If finalized, your employer's cost to sponsor you could increase — which may affect renewal and new sponsorship decisions. **If you're an employer sponsoring H-1B or PERM workers:** Review the proposed rule at [regulations.gov](https://www.regulations.gov) (docket ETA-2026-0001). If the higher wage floors would affect your hiring or compliance costs, **submit a comment by May 26, 2026**. This is your opportunity to put your concerns on the record before the rule is finalized. **If you're an F-1 student planning to pursue H-1B sponsorship:** The proposed rule could affect whether employers are willing to sponsor entry-level roles. Monitor developments after the comment period closes. ## Sources - Government source · federalregister.gov: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/27/2026-06017/improving-wage-protections-for-the-temporary-and-permanent-employment-of-certain-foreign-nationals - Source PDF: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-03-27/pdf/2026-06017.pdf --- _The Visa Pulse — Immigration Policy, Explained. Informational coverage of U.S. immigration policy, not legal advice._ - HTML version: https://thevisapulse.com/updates/dol-h1b-prevailing-wage-hike-proposed-rule-2026 - Markdown version: https://thevisapulse.com/updates/dol-h1b-prevailing-wage-hike-proposed-rule-2026.md - Agent instructions: https://thevisapulse.com/llms.txt - Sitemap: https://thevisapulse.com/sitemap.xml