DOL's Proposed Wage Rule Could Raise H-1B Salary Floors 20-33% - What to Know Now

A DOL proposal could push H-1B wage floors up 20-33 percent. As of September 2026 it is not final. Here is what actually changed and what has not.

Part of our guide to H-1B wage levels.

If you searched for this because you saw a headline about H-1B salaries jumping 20-33%, here is the direct answer: that increase is proposed, not in effect. The Department of Labor published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on March 27, 2026 that would raise H-1B prevailing wage floors by that range, the public comment period closed May 26, 2026, and as of September 12, 2026 there is no final rule and no effective date. Nothing about your current LCA, your current job offer, or your current H-1B wage obligation has changed because of this proposal.

That said, this is a proposal worth tracking closely if you're negotiating an offer, waiting on an LCA, or trying to understand why your recruiter keeps mentioning "wage levels." It touches the same OEWS wage-level system that already drives the wage-weighted H-1B lottery, and if it is ever finalized, it would reshape what "clearing prevailing wage" costs an employer for years to come.

What the DOL actually proposed, and what it did not

The NPRM is a proposal to revise how DOL calculates the four prevailing wage levels used across H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM cases. It does not eliminate the four-level structure, and it does not create a single national wage floor. The wage levels remain tied to Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) percentiles for a given Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code and area of intended employment:

• Level I — 17th percentile of the OEWS wage distribution for that occupation and area
• Level II — 34th percentile
• Level III — 50th percentile
• Level IV — 67th percentile

What the NPRM would change is the methodology behind how those percentile figures get calculated and applied, which DOL estimates would push the resulting dollar figures up 20-33% depending on occupation and level. Because wage levels are occupation- and metro-specific, there is no single "old number vs. new number" you can point to — a Level II software developer wage in Austin and a Level II software developer wage in San Francisco are already different dollar figures today, looked up individually through the DOL FLAG wage tool, and they would each move by their own amount if this rule is ever finalized.

Status as of September 12, 2026 — read this before anything else

The single most important fact in this table is the bottom row. Every LCA certified today, every prevailing wage determination looked up today, and every offer letter drafted today runs on the wage methodology that has been in place before this NPRM — not the proposed one. A proposed rule does not bind anyone until it is finalized and takes effect, and this one has neither happened.

How this connects to the wage-weighted lottery

Since February 27, 2026, H-1B registrations have been selected under a wage-weighted lottery: instead of every registration having an equal chance, registrations get more entries the higher the OEWS wage level the offered wage clears. A Level IV offer earns more chances than a Level I offer. You can read the full mechanics in how H-1B wage-based selection works.

That system depends entirely on where the four wage-level lines sit. Right now, those lines are calculated under the current, pre-NPRM methodology. If DOL finalizes this NPRM and the underlying wage-level calculations move up 20-33%, the dollar amount an employer has to offer to clear Level III or Level IV — and therefore to gain the lottery-entry advantage — would move up with it. That is the real reason this proposal matters beyond PERM and LCA compliance: it could eventually raise the bar for the wage-weighted selection advantage itself, though DOL has not published anything that changes lottery mechanics, only the wage inputs the lottery already uses.

For background on how any individual prevailing wage number gets set today, see how H-1B prevailing wage is determined and the deeper walkthrough of the four levels in DOL prevailing wage levels for H-1B.

What would actually change if this is finalized (and what would not)

What to do right now

1. Do not plan around the 20-33% figure as if it were final. It is DOL's own estimated range from the proposal, not a confirmed outcome, and it will not apply uniformly across every occupation and metro even if finalized.
2. Look up your actual current prevailing wage for your SOC code and area of intended employment using the DOL FLAG wage tool. This is the only number that governs an LCA filed today.
3. If you're negotiating an offer contingent on H-1B sponsorship, ask which wage level the employer intends to file at — this affects both your near-term wage-weighted lottery odds and your long-term LCA compliance, independent of this NPRM.
4. If you're mid-way through PERM or an active LCA, ask your employer's immigration attorney whether they are monitoring this rulemaking, but do not expect them to have a final answer — nobody does yet.
5. Check the Federal Register and DOL's Office of Foreign Labor Certification wage page periodically rather than relying on secondhand summaries, since a final rule (if and when one is issued) would include its own effective date and possibly a phase-in period that has not been proposed yet.
6. Talk to your DSO or an immigration attorney about your specific situation — this proposal does not change filing deadlines, OPT timelines, or grace periods, and no one should treat it as a reason to rush or delay a filing without professional advice.

Common mistakes

• Treating "proposed" as "in effect." The 20-33% figure describes a rule that has not been finalized. Writing an offer letter, resignation timeline, or LCA strategy around it as if it is current law is a mistake that can cost real money or real timeline slippage.
• Assuming one flat percentage applies everywhere. The range is an estimate across occupations and wage levels, not a single multiplier you can apply to your own current prevailing wage figure.
• Confusing this NPRM with the wage-weighted lottery rule. The lottery mechanism (effective February 27, 2026) is a separate, already-effective rule. This NPRM would only change the wage-level inputs the lottery already uses — it does not itself change how lottery entries are counted.
• Skipping the DOL FLAG wage tool and relying on a remembered dollar figure. Prevailing wage is occupation- and metro-specific. A number you heard for "Level II software engineer" in one city tells you nothing reliable about your own SOC code and area of intended employment.
• Waiting on a final rule that may never come, or may come later than expected. DOL has not published a timeline for a final rule following the May 26, 2026 comment close. Build your job search and offer decisions around today's actual rules, not a hoped-for or feared future one.
• Getting legal or filing advice from a blog instead of counsel. This post explains how the process works. It cannot tell you what wage level your offer should target, whether your case is compliant, or how to respond to an RFE — that is what an immigration attorney and, for anything touching your F-1/OPT status, your DSO are for.

Frequently asked questions

Is the DOL prevailing wage rule final as of September 2026

No. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published March 27, 2026 and the public comment period closed May 26, 2026. As of September 12, 2026 the Department of Labor has not issued a final rule and there is no effective date. It remains a proposal, not law.

How much would H-1B wage floors go up if this rule is finalized

The proposal as published would raise prevailing wage floors by 20-33%, depending on the occupation and the wage level. That range is not a flat increase applied everywhere; it depends on how DOL recalculates each of the four OEWS percentile levels for a given SOC code and metro area. Nothing is final, so budget and offer decisions should not assume a specific final number yet.

What are the four H-1B prevailing wage levels

DOL sets four wage levels tied to OEWS survey percentiles for a specific occupation code and geographic area. Level I sits at the 17th percentile, Level II at the 34th percentile, Level III at the 50th percentile, and Level IV at the 67th percentile. There is no single national dollar figure per level; the actual number comes from looking up the SOC code and area of intended employment in the DOL FLAG wage tool.

How does this NPRM relate to the wage-weighted H-1B lottery

They are connected but separate. The wage-weighted lottery, effective February 27, 2026, already gives more registration entries to jobs offering wages that clear the higher of the four OEWS levels. If this NPRM is finalized and the levels themselves move up, the wage line an offer has to clear to earn those extra entries would move up too, which is why employers and candidates are watching this proposal closely.

What should I do right now if I am relying on prevailing wage for an H-1B case

Look up the current prevailing wage for your specific SOC code and area of intended employment in the DOL FLAG wage tool rather than relying on any percentage figure you read online, and ask your employer's immigration attorney how a potential rule change could affect a pending or upcoming LCA. This is not something to plan around based on a blog post; it is a case-specific question for licensed counsel.

Where to go from here

Regulatory tracking like this is exactly the kind of thing that changes between the time a post is written and the time you read it. Check the Federal Register listing for this NPRM and your employer's immigration counsel for the current status before making any decision tied to it. If you want help thinking through how wage levels and timing affect your broader job search strategy, F1Jobs can walk through your situation with you.