United States | DOL proposes rule revising prevailing wage calculations for certain employment-based IV/NIV visa programs

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is scheduled to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on March 27, 2026, that would revise how prevailing wages are calculated for certain employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs.

Key takeaways

Proposed changes to prevailing wage calculations: The proposal would amend DOL regulations governing prevailing wages for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) by revising how wage levels are calculated under the agency’s four-tier weighted selection wage structure based on Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data.

The proposal would increase the prevailing wage floors for Wage Level I from the 17th percentile to the 34th percentile, for Wage Level II from the 34th to the 52nd, for Wage Level III from the 50th to the 70th, and for Wage Level IV from the 67th to the 88th, relying upon wage data provided by the OEWS survey. As drafted, the proposal would not eliminate the use of private wage surveys.

Programs potentially affected: The proposed rule would apply to certain EB-2 and EB-3 employment-based immigrant visas through PERM and H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 nonimmigrant visas. Any changes under a final rule would apply to:

• Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) requests pending as of the effective date of the final rule, as well as PWD requests filed on or after the effective date.
• LCAs filed on or after the effective date where OEWS survey data is the prevailing wage source and the employer did not obtain a PWD prior to the effective date.

Public comment period: Once the proposal is published on March 27, a 60-day public comment period will commence with a projected deadline of May 26, 2026.

Additional information: The NPRM begins the rulemaking process, which typically takes several months. Current regulations regarding H-1B and PERM wage obligations remain in place today.

More background on the rulemaking efforts regarding foreign worker wage levels can be read here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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