NIH Postdoc Salary in 2026 vs H-1B Wage Levels: What International Postdocs Should Check

The NIH postdoc salary scale and the H-1B prevailing wage are two different numbers set by two different agencies, and your offer has to clear the right one.

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

The NIH postdoc salary most people mean is the Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA stipend scale, which NIH republishes each fiscal year and which many universities adopt as their minimum postdoc pay. It is not the H-1B wage. If you are on F-1 OPT, STEM OPT or heading into H-1B, your pay must also clear a separate legal floor set through the Labor Condition Application (LCA): the higher of the prevailing wage for your occupation and location and the actual wage your employer pays similar postdocs. For most university postdocs, that prevailing wage comes from a special academic wage set, not the general one.

So when an offer says "consistent with the NIH scale," it answers only half the question.

Status line: what is true as of October 2026

The primary sources are the DOL prevailing-wage NPRM, the weighted-selection final rule, the proposed $103,265 fee rule and the USCIS H-1B page.

What the NIH postdoc salary scale actually is

When a lab says "NIH scale," it almost always means the NRSA stipend levels for postdoctoral trainees and fellows. A few things about that table matter for international postdocs.

• It is a stipend schedule for NRSA awards. NIH sets it for people paid on institutional training grants (T32) and individual fellowships (F32). It is tiered by years of relevant postdoctoral experience, from year 0 up to year 7 or more.
• It is updated by notice each fiscal year. NIH publishes the new levels in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. Look up the current notice on grants.nih.gov instead of trusting a figure from a blog, a Reddit thread or last year's offer letter. We do not reprint the dollar amounts here for that reason.
• NRSA awards generally require US citizenship or permanent residency. If you are on F-1, OPT or H-1B, you are usually not paid from an NRSA award at all. You are paid as a salaried employee from a research grant such as an R01, from institutional funds, or from a foundation fellowship.
• Institutions borrow the table as a floor. Many universities set their NIH minimum postdoc salary policy at or near NRSA year 0 and use the experience steps for raises. That is an institutional choice, not federal immigration law.

So the "NIH salary scale postdoc" phrase describes your institution's pay policy, not whether your H-1B petition is compliant.

How the H-1B wage floor works for a postdoc

Every H-1B petition starts with an LCA filed with DOL. On it, your employer attests that it will pay the higher of two numbers.

1. The actual wage. What the employer pays other workers with similar experience and qualifications in the same job. At a university, this is often the institutional postdoc pay scale itself.
2. The prevailing wage. The DOL wage for your occupation code (SOC) and worksite area, at one of four levels.

The full mechanics, including how the four levels map to experience and duties, are in our guide to H-1B wage levels explained. For postdocs, two details change the picture.

The occupation code drives the number

Postdoc positions are commonly classified under codes such as 19-1042 (Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists) or 19-1029 (Biological Scientists, All Other), depending on the duties; a computational role might land elsewhere. The code changes the prevailing wage you are compared against, so ask which one appears on your LCA. Our SOC code guide for H-1B explains how codes are chosen.

Cap-exempt employers often use ACWIA wages

Under the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA), institutions of higher education, their related or affiliated nonprofits, and nonprofit or government research organizations can have their prevailing wage computed using only similar employers. DOL publishes this as a separate wage set in its wage data on the Foreign Labor Certification (FLAG) site. Because academic pay runs below industry pay, the ACWIA figure for the same SOC code and area is often lower than the all-industry figure.

That is why a postdoc salary that looks low next to industry can still be compliant, and why a general online "postdoc salary in USA" average is the wrong benchmark. The right comparison is the specific wage on your LCA.

NIH scale vs H-1B prevailing wage, side by side

The proposed DOL rule: old levels vs proposed levels

The DOL prevailing-wage NPRM published on 2026-03-27 would raise the percentile behind each wage level. It is proposed, not in effect. Comments closed on 2026-05-26 and no final rule has been published.

Do not assume the outcome for academic jobs. How a final rule would treat the ACWIA wage set, whether it would reach pending cases and when it would take effect are questions for your institution's immigration counsel once a final rule exists. Until then, today's levels govern your LCA.

Why wage levels matter later: the move to industry

As a university postdoc, you are almost certainly with a cap-exempt employer. Our overview of cap-exempt H-1B employers explains who qualifies. Cap-exempt petitions skip the H-1B lottery, and the wage-weighted selection rule does not touch them.

The picture changes when you take a cap-subject job at a pharma, biotech or CRO company. If you were never counted against the cap, that employer must register you in the lottery. Since 2026-02-27, selection is weighted by the wage level of the offer: Level IV gets four entries, Level III three, Level II two and Level I one. The rule was used for FY2027, and no FY2028 change has been proposed. FY2028 registration dates have not been announced, so check the USCIS electronic registration page rather than relying on an expected month.

The wage level an industry employer assigns depends on its job requirements, which it and its counsel decide. If the proposed $103,265 fee is finalized, it would apply to cap-subject petitions, one more cost an industry employer weighs.

The mechanics of switching are covered in our guide to moving from a cap-exempt to a cap-subject employer.

Where the $100,000 fee fits for research employers

Proclamation 11069 extended the $100,000 H-1B entry restriction to 2027-09-21, but the fee is blocked: California v. Mullin (D. Mass., 2026-06-08) vacated the USCIS guidance, and Global Nurse Force v. Trump (N.D. Cal., 2026-09-30) blocked the agencies' implementing policies. Both are on appeal, and DHS says it still plans to collect the payment if the orders are lifted. Questions about research hospitals, affiliated institutes and consular processing are worked through in our explainer on $100k fee edge cases for cap-exempt research hospitals. Treat it as a moving target and confirm with your institution's immigration attorney before you travel or change employers.

Step by step: check your postdoc offer

1. Find the current NRSA stipend notice on grants.nih.gov and read your institution's postdoc pay policy. Note which experience year you are placed in and why.
2. Ask the international scholars office which SOC code and wage level will go on your LCA. It is a routine question.
3. Look up the prevailing wage yourself in DOL's wage data on the FLAG site. Use the ACWIA set if your employer is cap-exempt, and the same SOC code and worksite area.
4. Compare three numbers: your offered salary, your institution's postdoc minimum, and the LCA prevailing wage. Your pay must meet the higher of the actual and prevailing wage.
5. Confirm how it is paid. H-1B requires payroll employment by the petitioning employer. A stipend paid as a fellowship, or a split where part of your pay comes from an outside foundation, is a question to raise with the international office before you start.
6. If you are on OPT or STEM OPT first, make sure the role is directly related to your degree. For STEM OPT, the employer must be enrolled in E-Verify and complete Form I-983, and your pay must be commensurate with similarly situated US workers. Remember the unemployment limits: 90 days on post-completion OPT and 150 days in aggregate with the STEM extension. Your DSO, not the lab, is the authority on OPT questions.
7. Plan the next move early. If industry is the long-term goal, learn what wage level comparable roles carry, since it drives your lottery weighting later.

If your offer is a J-1 appointment instead of H-1B, the trade-offs are different, including the two-year home residency rule for some scholars. See our comparison of J-1 vs H-1B for researchers and postdocs.

Common mistakes

• Treating "NIH scale" as an immigration guarantee. The NRSA table is a stipend schedule and an institutional policy. Your LCA wage is the legal floor.
• Comparing your offer to an industry salary average. Cap-exempt employers often use ACWIA wages, which are built from academic employers only.
• Forgetting the actual wage half of the test. If your institution pays similar postdocs more, the employer generally has to pay you that too.
• Writing as if the DOL wage rule is law. It is proposed. Today's levels apply until a final rule says otherwise.
• Assuming the lottery applies to a university postdoc. It usually does not. It applies when you move to a cap-subject employer.
• Asking the wrong person. OPT and SEVIS questions go to your DSO. H-1B petition questions go to your institution's immigration attorney or international scholars office. They are not interchangeable.

Frequently asked questions

Is the NIH postdoc salary scale the same as the H-1B minimum wage for a postdoc?

No. The NIH scale is the Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA stipend table, which many universities use as an internal pay floor. The H-1B minimum is set by the Department of Labor through the Labor Condition Application, and the employer must pay the higher of the prevailing wage and the actual wage it pays similar postdocs. The two numbers often land close together, but neither one replaces the other.

Do university postdocs on H-1B go through the wage-weighted lottery?

Usually not. Universities, their affiliated nonprofits and nonprofit or government research organizations are cap-exempt, so their H-1B petitions skip the registration lottery entirely. The wage-weighted selection rule in effect since 2026-02-27 matters when you later move to a cap-subject employer such as a pharma or biotech company.

Will the proposed DOL prevailing-wage rule raise my postdoc salary?

Not today. The DOL rule (RIN 1205-AC30) is still proposed, with comments closed on 2026-05-26 and no final rule. It would raise the percentile behind each wage level, but how a final version would treat the separate ACWIA wage set that cap-exempt employers use is something to confirm with your institution's immigration counsel rather than assume.

Do the $100,000 or $103,265 H-1B fees apply to a university postdoc?

The proposed $103,265 fee would apply only to cap-subject petitions, and cap-exempt petitioners are exempt. The $100,000 entry restriction was extended to 2027-09-21 by Proclamation 11069, but the fee is blocked by two federal court orders. Edge cases involving travel and consular processing should go to your institution's immigration attorney.

Sources

• NIH NRSA stipend notices: grants.nih.gov
• DOL H-1B program: dol.gov
• DOL wage data: flag.dol.gov

This article explains how the rules work. It is not legal advice, and your own LCA, I-797 and I-20 govern over anything published here.

A postdoc is often the first step, not the last. If you are planning the move from academic research to an industry role that sponsors, F1Jobs can help you build a target list and a search plan around your visa timeline.