US proposes wage increase for H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 visas; calls existing salary levels dramatically below market rates, because of which …

The Trump administration is proposing a new rule that will make it more expensive to hire H-1B visa holders and sponsor employment-based immigrants by significantly increasing the required prevailing wages. According to the US Department of Labor (DOL), the proposed rule aims to raise the required minimum salaries by 21% to 33%, depending on a worker’s experience level. The rule has a 60-day comment period. “DOL is proposing to amend its regulations governing the PERM program and Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) to incorporate changes to the computation of wage levels under the Department’s four-tiered prevailing wage structure based on the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) wage survey administered by the Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).