The US Department of Labor(DOL) today published a Proposed Rule in the Federal Register that changes the Wage Levels for H1B, PERM, H1B1, and E3 for public inspection. It is set to be published on March 27th, 2026, to get public feedback through the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) process.
Changes to prevailing wage levels for H1B, PERM, and other programs will increase the minimum salaries by 21% to 33%, depending on the wage level. In this article, we will look at the details of the changes, why they are changing, the background, how significant the changes are, their impact, and what to expect next, including some FAQs.
If you are not sure about H1B Wage Levels and how they work, you may read What are H1B Wage Levels, How to find?
Background: History, Why Changing the Wage Levels?
This is not the first time the Trump Administration has tried to change the wage levels for H1B, PERM, and others. They have attempted in the past during the first term. Below is a brief history for your context.
History of Prevailing Wage Levels Changes Regulation:
- Interim Final Rule – Year 2020: The US Dept of Labor(DOL) originally published the interim final rule on H1B, PERM Wage Levels Changes on October 8th, 2020 and many employers scrambled to comply with the changes.
- Lawsuits in Court: There were lawsuits filed in various Courts on the changes to H1B, PERM wage levels rule and all of them ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. In the first week of December 2020, the Courts asked DOL to cancel the interim final rule and follow the proper process.
- Final Rule Publication – Year 2021: DHS has published the final rule in the Federal Register on January 8th, 2021, with an effective date of March 9th, 2021.
- Implementation Delays, Cancellation – Year 2021: After the Biden Administration took office, it delayed implementation of the wage-level changes until November 2022. In the meantime, the courts cancelled the rule, and DHS withdrew the rule in December 2021.
Why Changing H1B, PERM Wage Levels?
Below are the key reasons the Trump Administration states in the proposed rule on why they are changing the wage levels:
- Trump’s Proclamation: President Trump signed a proclamation on Sep 19th, 2025, that added a $100K fee and directed the Department of Labor to adjust the prevailing wage levels for H1B workers.
- Outdated Percentile Thresholds: The DOL says that current wage levels are not properly aligned with the statutory requirements and relies on outdated percentile thresholds that do not reflect real market conditions.
- Layoffs – Undercut Domestic Labor: They say that there is evidence that major H1B program users have done large-scale layoffs of US workers but continue to hire foreign workers at lower wages.
- H1B Program abuse, Wage disparities: As per the DOL’s FY 2020-2024 Labor Condition Application(LCA) data analysis, the wage offered to H1B workers was about $10K less than that of similar US workers. Also, they say, there were whistleblower complaints on underpayments to workers and misuse of the H1B program.
Now that you have the history of the proposed rule and why the Trump administration wants to change the wage levels, let’s look at the changes, impact.
📌 You can watch the video summary of this article at 📺 New Changes to H1B, PERM Wage Levels – Proposed Rule Summary
What are the Changes to the H1B and PERM Wage Levels?
In the 145-page proposed rule document, the US Dept of Labor discusses the various issues with the current wage levels and how they are not adjusted to current market conditions, and how some employers are abusing the system.
The DOL reports in the proposed rule that for FY 2024 LCA Data, about 63 percent of certified LCAs were at Level I or Level II, which are far below the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) mean. They also discuss the approaches they have taken and the analysis they have conducted to develop changes to wage levels.
Below are the changes to the Wage Levels they are suggesting in the proposed rule:
| H1B, PERM Wage Level | Current Percentile | Proposed Percentile |
| Level I (Entry) | 17th | 34th |
| Level II (Qualified) | 34th | 52nd |
| Level III (Experienced) | 50th | 70th |
| Level IV (Fully Competent) | 67th | 88th |
Below is the screenshot of the text referencing the above changes from the proposed rule document:
How do actual Wages or Salaries change with the new Wage Level Changes?
As per the proposed rule, the actual wages or salaries can increase anywhere from 20 percent to 33 percent, depending on the wage level. The proposed rule illustrates how the actual wage would vary before and after the wage changes by providing us with data.
The table below shows the proposed rule wage changes by wage levels before and after the change.
| H1B, PERM Wage Levels | Current Prevailing Wage (avg) | New Prevailing Wage (avg) | Percentage of Wage Changes with New Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level I (Entry) | $73,279 | $97,746 | ⬆️ 33.39% |
| Level II (Qualified) | $98,987 | $123,212 | ⬆️ 24.47% |
| Level III (Experienced) | $121,979 | $147,333 | ⬆️ 20.79% |
| Level IV (Fully Competent) | $144,202 | $175,464 | ⬆️ 21.68% |
Below is the screenshot of the actual reference exhibit in the proposed rule, indicating the same.
Usage of Private Wage Surveys
The US Department of Labor conducted an analysis to determine if it can eliminate the usage of private wage surveys. After careful analysis, they realized that there are situations where OEWS is not available, and a private wage survey may be needed.
DOL believes that OEWS should always be considered and used as a primary source for wages. Depending on the situation and the availability of data, employers can use private wage surveys. The private wage surveys must meet the same standards as OEWS. They said that they would monitor the usage of privage wage survey to ensure integrity so that firms do not abuse the system.
Below is the screenshot of the reference text from the proposed rule text that highlights the usage of private wage surveys:
New Wage Levels applicable to?
As per the proposed rule, in FY 2024, about 57.6 percent of PERM applications were filed for workers already on H-1 B status. DOL wants all wages to be consistent across all the interrelated programs, such as H1B and PERM.
To ensure consistency, the new wage levels changes will be applicable for all the below programs:
- H1B Program
- H1B1 Program
- E-3 Program
- PERM Labor Certification (used for Green Card)
Effective Date, Who all does it impact?
As per the proposed rule, the prevailing wage level changes will only be applicable to all the LCAs and PERM Labor Certifications filed with DOL on or after the effective date of the regulation. It will not apply to previously approved prevailing wage determinations, LCAs, or PERM Labor certifications.
The effective date will be published by DHS after the proposed rule completes the NPRM process and final rule. As of now, we do not know that date yet. All regulations have to go through the 9 Steps of the Federal Rulemaking process.
Next Steps, Official Copy of Proposed Rule
The public has a 60-day comment period starting from March 27th, 2026, until May 26, 2026. Anyone can submit a comment during this period at the Federal Register.
After the comment period concludes, the US Dept of Labor and DHS will review all the public comments and may make changes to the proposed rule. They will publish a final rule after reviewing comments and addressing them in the final regulation.
Official Wage Level Changes Propose Rule Details:
- Title: “Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States”
- Federal Register: https://federalregister.gov/d/2026-06017
- PDF Copy of Proposed Rule: Public Inspection Copy of Wage Level Changes Rule
Common FAQs
No. The above details are from the proposed regulation. The rule is not yet final. They are not effective yet.
As per the proposed rule text, no, it will not impact existing already approved H1B LCAs or PERM Labor Certifications.
Not yet. The US Dept of Labor’s OFLC has not yet published the updated data based on the new wage levels. This is usually done after the rule is finalized.
You can check OFLC Wage Search on DOL website or for history, more graphs, check H1BGrader Prevailing Wage Search, History
What do you think of the new proposed Wage Levels Rule for H1B, PERM programs? Will this have an impact on the H1B filings? Share your thoughts in comments section below.
So, if this wage rule is approved, will it apply to upcoming H-1B extensions as well, or only to those filing new PERM applications?
Also, what’s your view (Kumar) on the likelihood of this rule being approved? Do you think there’s a high probability it will face litigation in court?