The $140,000 H-1B Salary Bill Explained: Who It Covers, Who It Doesn't and Where It Stands

The $140,000 H-1B headlines describe a bill that would move one exemption line for H-1B-dependent employers, not a new minimum salary for every H-1B worker.

No, there is no $140,000 minimum salary for H-1B. The "$140,000 H-1B salary threshold" bill in the headlines is the Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act: S. 5638 in the Senate and H.R. 10799 in the House. The bill would replace the flat $60,000 line that decides who counts as an "exempt" H-1B worker at H-1B-dependent employers with twice the national average wage index: about $139,700 on the 2024 index and about $145,600 on the 2025 index. As of November 1, 2026, both versions are introduced and referred. Neither has passed a chamber.

Status line, as of November 1, 2026:

• In effect: the $60,000 exempt-worker line in INA 212(n)(3)(B)(i)(I), used only by H-1B-dependent employers and willful violators; wage-weighted H-1B selection, since 2026-02-27.
• Introduced and referred: S. 5638 / H.R. 10799. Bills not enacted die when the 119th Congress ends on 2027-01-03.
• Proposed: DOL's prevailing-wage rule (RIN 1205-AC30), NPRM 2026-03-27; no final rule, not at OIRA.

Common misconception: "Congress set a $140,000 minimum salary for H-1B workers."

Correction: Nothing has been set, and the bill is not a pay floor. It changes one definition that matters only to employers with a heavily H-1B workforce or a willful-violation finding. Such an employer could still hire below the new line; it would just make extra promises about US workers on that worker's Labor Condition Application (LCA). Every H-1B worker is still owed the higher of the actual wage or the prevailing wage, a rule the bill does not touch.

What does the $140,000 H-1B salary threshold bill actually do?

The H-1B salary threshold bill changes one wage test in the Immigration and Nationality Act. It would raise the pay at which an H-1B worker counts as "exempt" from $60,000 to twice the Social Security national average wage index. An LCA covering only exempt workers spares an H-1B-dependent employer (or a willful violator) extra recruitment and non-displacement attestations. The bill sets no minimum salary.

The whole operative section of both bills is one sentence. Section 2 of S. 5638 as introduced amends INA 212(n)(3)(B)(i)(I) "by striking 'at least $60,000' and inserting 'not less than twice the national average wage index (as defined in section 209(k)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 409(k)(1))) for the most recently calculated year.'" The Grothman H-1B bill, H.R. 10799, carries the same amendment. Neither version states an effective date.

The definition it amends, in 8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(3)(B), says an "exempt H-1B nonimmigrant" is a worker who:

• (I) "receives wages (including cash bonuses and similar compensation) at an annual rate equal to at least $60,000"; or
• (II) "has attained a master's or higher degree (or its equivalent) in a specialty related to the intended employment."

The bill rewrites (I) and leaves (II) alone.

Why the headlines say $140,000 when the math now says $145,600

The bill names no dollar figure. It points at an index the Social Security Administration (SSA) recalculates every year. When S. 5638 was introduced on 2026-09-30, the latest published index was for 2024, $69,846.57; twice that is $139,693.14, which headlines rounded to $140,000. On 2026-10-26, SSA's Federal Register notice stated that "the national average wage index for 2025 is $72,800.33." Twice that is $145,600.66 (our arithmetic). Because the bill says "most recently calculated year," the line would move with each new index (our reading), so the headline $140,000 is already out of date.

Who does the bill cover?

Only employers that owe the extra LCA attestations: H-1B-dependent employers, and employers DOL has found to be willful violators. For every other employer, the exempt definition does nothing today and would do nothing under the bill.

What is an H-1B-dependent employer?

INA 212(n)(3)(A) defines it by headcount of full-time-equivalent (FTE) US employees.

Statutory test as of 2026-11. This is current law, and S. 5638 / H.R. 10799 do not change it.

Our guide to H-1B-dependent employers covers how to tell whether a prospective employer is one. It is also not the "covered employer" test for the $4,000 9-11 fee on H-1B petitions, including extensions (in effect for petitions postmarked 2026-09-09 through 2027-09-30). That test needs 50 or more US employees with more than 50% in H-1B or L-1 status, the definition USCIS restates for L-1 petitions in policy alert PA-2026-16 (2026-10-27). A company can be dependent at 15% without owing that fee.

What extra promises does a dependent employer make?

INA 212(n)(1)(E) through (G), summarized in DOL's Fact Sheet #62S, require a dependent employer or willful violator to attest on the LCA that it:

• has not displaced and will not displace a US worker it employs, from 90 days before to 90 days after filing the H-1B petition;
• will not place the H-1B worker at another employer's worksite without first asking whether that employer has displaced, or intends to displace, a US worker;
• has recruited US workers in good faith at pay at least equal to the H-1B wage, and has offered the job to any equally or better qualified US applicant.

The way out is in the statute: "An application is not described in this clause if the only H-1B nonimmigrants sought in the application are exempt H-1B nonimmigrants." An LCA used only for exempt workers skips those attestations. Raising the line would make them apply to more LCAs (our reading).

How the exempt worker test works today

DOL's Fact Sheet #62Q on exempt H-1B workers sets out the details. The wages must actually be paid in the calendar year, cash bonuses count only if payment is assured, employer-paid benefits such as health insurance do not count, and a part-time worker's $60,000 is not prorated. Every H-1B worker, exempt or not, keeps the program's wage, benefit and whistleblower protections. The bill changes only the dollar line, not how wages are counted.

Every LCA records which route the employer used. Form ETA-9035 asks whether the employer is H-1B-dependent or a willful violator, whether the LCA will support only exempt workers, and on what basis. DOL's disclosure files publish the answers in the columns H-1B_DEPENDENT, WILLFUL_VIOLATOR, SUPPORT_H1B and STATUTORY_BASIS. Per the FY2026 Q3 LCA record layout, the basis reads "Wage" ($60,000 or higher annual wage), "Degree" (master's or higher in a related specialty) or "Both". An exempt-only LCA on the "Wage" basis is the kind the bill would reach; one on "Degree" or "Both" would not, as long as the worker's degree qualifies (our reading).

Who does the bill not cover?

• Workers at employers that are neither dependent nor willful violators. If your employer is neither, nothing in this bill reaches your LCA.
• Workers with a related master's degree. The bill strikes only the wage words in subclause (I). On our reading, a worker with a master's or higher degree in a specialty related to the job would still be exempt at any salary. A foreign equivalent degree counts; experience does not, per DOL. This is not the lottery's advanced-degree cap, which requires a master's or higher from a US institution.
• Your pay. INA 212(n)(1)(A) still requires at least the actual wage paid to similar workers or "the prevailing wage level for the occupational classification in the area of employment, whichever is greater." See our explainer on whether H-1B has a minimum wage.
• The lottery, the cap, OPT and the $100,000 fee. The bill text mentions none of them.

Worked example: one employer, four H-1B workers

Picture a hypothetical IT consultancy with 400 US full-time-equivalent employees, 120 of them on H-1B. That is 30%, above the 15% line, so the company is H-1B-dependent. This is how four of its workers would be treated if the bill became law as written.

Illustrative scenario as of 2026-11, built from the bill text and the statute. The salaries are hypothetical, not market data, and the bill has not passed.

A "No" does not mean the worker cannot be hired or must be paid more. It means the LCA covering that worker could no longer be exempt-only, so the employer would make the displacement and recruitment attestations for it. Worker C shows why the index matters: the same $142,000 clears the line on the 2024 index and misses it on the 2025 index.

Which H-1B number did you see? Seven figures that get mixed up

Status as of 2026-11-01. Sources are linked in the text and listed below.

A different "$140,000" circulates in OPT threads. It comes from the proposed OPT fee rule, where DHS asked for comment on charging the $70,000 initial OPT fee again after a move to a higher degree level (two $70,000 fees is our arithmetic). That fee is proposed, would be paid by the school (which may pass it on), and is not a salary rule. Comments close 2026-11-09; after that the fee stays a proposal until DHS publishes a final rule.

How is this different from the DOL wage rule and the wage-weighted lottery?

They are three separate mechanisms. The bill decides which LCAs carry extra attestations, the DOL proposal would decide what employers must pay, and the weighted lottery decides whose registration is selected.

DOL's prevailing-wage proposal would set pay; this bill would not

The DOL prevailing-wage NPRM (RIN 1205-AC30), published 2026-03-27, would raise the four prevailing-wage levels that set minimum pay on LCAs and PERM filings. It would move Level I from the 17th to the 34th percentile, Level II to the 52nd, Level III to the 70th and Level IV from the 67th to the 88th. It is still proposed: there is no final rule, and it is not at OIRA as of 2026-11-01. For the current system, see how DOL's four prevailing wage levels work; for the proposal, see our explainer on the DOL prevailing wage NPRM and its higher floors.

The wage-weighted lottery decides selection; this bill would not

Since 2026-02-27, DHS's weighted selection rule has weighted each cap registration by the highest OEWS wage level the offered wage meets or exceeds for the occupation and area, from one entry at Level I to four at Level IV. USCIS has not announced FY2028 registration dates; it must announce them at least 30 days ahead, and they will appear on its registration process page. A worker below the bill's new line could still be registered, selected and petitioned for (our reading).

Has the H-1B Modernization Act passed? Where it stands

No. Both versions are introduced and referred, and no immigration bill has passed either chamber in the 119th Congress.

Timeline as of 2026-11-01. The bill text is from govinfo.gov; the congressional calendar is scheduled, not certain.

To become law, the same text would have to clear committee, pass both chambers and be signed. We found no Judiciary Committee hearing or markup on H-1B bills in October 2026, though that check is not exhaustive. For the wider field, see our tracker of H-1B reform bills in Congress in 2026. Official records are on govinfo for S. 5638 and H.R. 10799.

What to do now if you are on OPT, STEM OPT or H-1B

The bill changes nothing about your status or your employer's filings today. To see where you would stand if it passed:

1. Ask your employer's HR team or immigration counsel whether the company is H-1B-dependent, and whether your LCA (Form ETA-9035/9035E) is used only for exempt workers.
2. Request the LCA public access file, which the statute requires the employer to make available; our guide to what an H-1B LCA public access file contains explains what to look for.
3. Search the LCA disclosure files on DOL's OFLC performance data page for the employer's past LCAs and read the H-1B_DEPENDENT, SUPPORT_H1B and STATUTORY_BASIS columns; the latest files run through FY2026 Q3 (2026-06-30).
4. Confirm with your employer's immigration attorney whether your degree meets the master's prong (a master's or higher, or its equivalent, in a specialty related to the job).
5. Track the bill's text on govinfo.gov or congress.gov, not in headlines; an amended version would appear there as a new text.
6. Bring F-1, OPT, STEM OPT and cap-gap questions to your DSO, and petition or status strategy to a licensed immigration attorney. Nothing in the bill as introduced changes an OPT or H-1B filing deadline.

Common mistakes

• Calling it a minimum salary. It is an exemption threshold for one group of employers. Pay still follows the actual and prevailing wage rules.
• Assuming it applies to every employer. Only H-1B-dependent employers and willful violators use the exempt definition.
• Treating $140,000 as fixed. The line tracks SSA's index, which already puts it near $145,600.
• Assuming a master's degree stops helping. The bill text leaves the master's prong untouched (our reading).
• Mixing up three mechanisms. The bill, the DOL wage proposal and the weighted lottery do different jobs; of the three, only the lottery weighting is in effect.
• Treating an introduced bill as law. No committee vote, no floor vote, no signature. Unenacted bills die on 2027-01-03.
• Confusing it with the OPT "$140,000". That comes from a proposed school-paid OPT fee, not an H-1B salary rule.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a new $140,000 minimum salary for H-1B?

No. As of November 1, 2026, no law or rule sets one. S. 5638 and H.R. 10799 would only raise the line that decides who counts as an exempt H-1B worker at H-1B-dependent employers, and both are introduced and referred. Every H-1B worker is still owed the higher of the actual or prevailing wage.

What is an H-1B-dependent employer?

Under INA 212(n)(3)(A), it is an employer with 25 or fewer US full-time-equivalent employees and more than 7 H-1B workers, 26 to 50 employees and more than 12, or 51 or more with H-1B workers equal to at least 15 percent of them. Dependent employers and willful violators make extra LCA attestations about US workers unless the LCA covers only exempt workers.

Does the $140,000 bill affect the H-1B lottery?

No. The bill changes only the exempt-worker line in INA 212(n)(3)(B), not the cap, registration or selection. Wage-weighted selection, in effect since February 27, 2026, is a separate DHS rule based on the OEWS wage level the offered wage reaches.

Has the Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act passed?

No. As of November 1, 2026, S. 5638 (Husted, introduced September 30, 2026) and H.R. 10799 (Grothman, introduced October 13, 2026) are introduced and referred to the Judiciary Committees. No immigration bill has passed a chamber this Congress, and any bill not enacted by January 3, 2027 dies.

Would the bill affect master's degree holders?

The bill strikes only the $60,000 wage test in subclause (I) and does not mention subclause (II), the route for a master's or higher degree in a specialty related to the job. On our reading that degree route stays as it is; recheck the text if the bill is amended.

Sources

• S. 5638, introduced in the Senate (govinfo)
• H.R. 10799, introduced in the House (govinfo)
• 8 U.S.C. 1182 (INA 212), including 212(n) (Cornell LII)
• SSA notice with the 2025 national average wage index, 91 FR, 2026-10-26 (govinfo)
• DOL WHD Fact Sheet #62Q, exempt H-1B nonimmigrants
• DOL WHD Fact Sheet #62S, willful violator employers
• DOL prevailing-wage NPRM, RIN 1205-AC30 (Federal Register, 2026-03-27)
• Weighted selection final rule (Federal Register, 2025-12-29)
• USCIS H-1B electronic registration process
• USCIS policy alert PA-2026-16 (2026-10-27)
• DOL OFLC performance data and disclosure files
• DOL LCA disclosure record layout, FY2026 Q3
• Proposed OPT fees (Federal Register, 2026-10-08)

How we checked this: on 2026-11-01 we read the introduced texts of S. 5638 and H.R. 10799 on govinfo, INA 212(n) as codified at 8 U.S.C. 1182, SSA's 2026-10-26 Federal Register notice, DOL Fact Sheets #62Q and #62S, and DOL's FY2026 Q3 LCA disclosure record layout.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own LCA, petition and approval notice, and your DSO or immigration attorney, govern your situation.

If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and want to aim your search at employers that sponsor H-1B, F1Jobs can help you run a focused, well-organized search.