H-1B: Biden Govt Is Seeking Public Comments On Wage Reform

The Biden Government is seeking public comments on the best methodology and data to use in updating minimum wage requirements for H-1B visa, one of the action points in the US President's pre-election manifesto.

In its final days, the Trump govt had issued a rule that increased wages for H-1B workers and green cardholders. However, a multi-year transition period was provided for it. The wage hike was not as steep as that contained in the earlier interim final rule introduced last October, which was shot down by US district courts as the public notice and comment requirements were not followed.

On the other hand, critics of the H-1B program have claimed that some sponsoring employers abuse the system and hire 'cheap' foreign labor. Owing to President's regulatory freeze, the wage rule did not apply to the recently concluded lottery process for the season ended September 30, 2022.

The US Department of Labour (DOL) has delayed the effective date of this rule until November 14, 2022.

To date, US govt agencies have used the Occupational Employment Statistics Report data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics to determine the appropriate wage rate by the job and region.