A United States Department of Labor regulation that could raise the minimum pay for H-1B visa holders and employment-based green card applicants has reached the final stage of federal review, moving the long-debated wage change closer to becoming law.

The final rule has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, which is now reviewing it before publication in the Federal Register, according to a November 9 update. The budget office review is the last step before the rule is published, and its timing will decide when the new wage levels take effect.

The regulation would revise the prevailing wage minimums under the four-level wage system that sets the lowest pay employers can offer foreign workers in a given occupation and area. It would affect employers hiring through the H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 visa programmes, as well as the PERM labour certification process used for employment-based green cards.

What the proposed wage levels would change

The proposal, first published in March 2026, would raise the wage benchmarks at every level of the system. At Level I, for entry-level workers, the benchmark would rise from the 17th percentile to the 34th percentile of wages for the occupation and area.

At Level II, the benchmark would rise from the 34th to the 52nd percentile. At Level III, it would move from the 50th to the 70th percentile, and at Level IV, for the most experienced workers, it would climb from the 67th to the 88th percentile.

The March proposal went through a 60-day public comment period that ended in May 2026. The department then reviewed the feedback it received and prepared the final regulation that is now with the budget office.

Why the department says the change is needed

The stated aim of the change is to strengthen wage protections for American workers and to align the pay of foreign workers with that of similarly employed workers in the United States. Supporters of the approach argue that higher minimums will stop employers from using foreign workers to undercut local pay.

For employers, the change would mean higher minimum salary levels when hiring skilled workers from abroad. For workers already in the system, it could mean higher pay, but it could also change hiring decisions if employers find the new minimums too costly.

What happens next

The timing of the rule could matter for the next H-1B cap season, which begins in late winter or early spring 2027, though the impact depends on when the final rule is published and when it takes effect, according to Fragomen, an immigration law firm tracking the regulation.

Until the budget office clears the rule and it is published in the Federal Register, the March proposal figures remain a proposal and not the law. Applicants and employers will be watching the publication date and the effective date, since those two dates will decide who is covered and from when.