DOL Proposes Rule Revising H-1B, PERM Prevailing Wage Methodology

Detected March 27th, 2026

Summary

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has proposed a rule to revise the prevailing wage methodology for H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM visa programs. The proposed changes aim to ensure foreign workers are paid wages aligned with those of similarly employed American workers, thereby protecting American jobs and wages.

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What changed

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule to update the methodology for determining prevailing wages for the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM visa programs. The current methodology is criticized for setting wages below market rates, which allegedly incentivizes employers to displace American workers with lower-paid foreign labor. The proposed rule would utilize statistically grounded percentile thresholds from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey to establish more accurate prevailing wages, aiming to curb abuse and ensure parity between wages paid to foreign and U.S. workers.

This proposed rule requires employers seeking to hire foreign workers under these visa programs to pay wages that reflect the true market value of their labor. Compliance officers should review the proposed methodology and its potential impact on their organization's foreign labor certification and visa sponsorship processes. Public comments on the proposed rule are due 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register, which is anticipated on March 27, 2026. Failure to comply with the final rule, once enacted, could result in penalties related to wage and hour violations and potential debarment from visa programs.

What to do next

Review proposed rule for impact on foreign labor certification and visa sponsorship.
Prepare and submit public comments by the deadline.
Monitor for final rule publication and implementation.

Penalties

Potential penalties for non-compliance with final rule may include wage and hour violations and debarment from visa programs.

Source document (simplified)

News Release

US Department of Labor issues proposed rule revising prevailing wage methodology for H-1B, PERM visa programs

Proposed rule would protect wages, job opportunities for American workers WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration today issued a proposed rule designed to protect the wages and job opportunities of American workers by stripping away the ability of employers to pay substandard wages to foreign workers in certain visa programs.

The proposed rule would modernize the existing methodology for determining prevailing wage levels in the permanent labor certification, H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa programs. The updated methodology would use statistically grounded percentile thresholds derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey to bring the wages paid to foreign workers in line with wages paid to similarly employed American workers. This much-needed change aims to curb abuse of certain visa programs by reducing the incentive to displace American workers with low-wage foreign visa holders and establishing parity between the wages paid to U.S. workers and foreign workers entering the country on certain employment-based visas.

Existing prevailing wage levels have, for too long, been set dramatically below the market rates which many American workers receive, particularly entry-level Americans and recent college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. Because of this, the H-1B program has been distorted by hiring practices that abuse the program to replace their existing American workforce with cheap foreign labor.

“The Trump Administration is committed to ensuring that American workers are not disadvantaged by unfair wage practices,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “This proposed rule will help ensure that employers pay foreign workers wages that reflect the real market value of their labor, in addition to protecting the wages and job opportunities of American workers. The continued abuse of the H-1B program by certain bad actors will no longer be tolerated.”

Under current law, U.S. employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers through the H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 visa programs must pay foreign workers the higher of the prevailing wage for the area of intended employment or the actual wage rate paid to similarly qualified U.S. workers in the area of intended employment. For employers seeking to hire foreign workers permanently through the permanent labor certification program, employers are required to offer and pay foreign workers at least the prevailing wage for the job opportunity in the area of intended employment. This prevailing wage serves effectively as a wage floor, and an employer must attest that they are offering at least the prevailing wage at the time of filing, that the wage offered during recruitment is at least the prevailing wage, and that the employer will actually pay at least the prevailing wage when a foreign worker begins their employment.

By seeking to implement these proposed changes, the Department of Labor aspires to improve the correlation between wages paid to foreign workers and those paid to American workers with similar skills and qualifications, reduce the economic incentives to underpay foreign workers and undermine the American workforce, and promote fair competition in the American labor market.

Comments on the proposed rule are due 60 days after publication in the March 27, 2026, edition of the Federal Register. Additional information and technical assistance materials will be available on ETA’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification page.

Read ETA’s notice of proposed rulemaking on prevailing wages for certain visa programs.

Agency Employment and Training Administration Date March 26, 2026 Release Number 26-146-NAT Media Contact: Courtney Parella Phone Number (202) 693-4676 Email parella.courtney.e@dol.gov Share This
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