On March 27, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DHS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would significantly change how government-set “prevailing wages” are calculated for key employment-based immigration programs. The rule would directly affect employers that sponsor workers for PERM-based green cards (EB-2 and EB-3) and for H-1B, H‑1B1, and E‑3 visas.
For the last 20+ years, employers have relied principally on government wage data drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey to determine the wage rates they must offer when sponsoring foreign professionals for visas and green cards. The proposed rule would revise how the four wage levels in the OEWS survey are set. While the proposal’s full technical detail is aimed at statisticians and labor economists, the practical takeaway is straightforward: under DOL’s proposal, the four levels of the OEWS wage survey would each represent a higher-percentile wage rate than previously for a given occupation and geographic area of employment. Specifically, DOL proposes to 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 percentile, for Wage Level III from the 50th to the 70th percentile, and for Wage Level IV from the 67th to the 88th percentile.
DOL asserts that the current system allows employers to pay foreign workers less than similarly qualified U.S. workers. Much of the NPRM’s preamble is devoted to the statistical methodology DOL used to support that assertion and to justify the sharp rise in OEWS wage levels. Other labor economists have issued criticisms of DOL’s methodology. If the NPRM is adopted as a final rule, these disputes could become the subject of litigation.
Stakeholders have until May 26, 2026 to submit comments through www.regulations.gov under Docket ETA‑2026‑0001. Employers that rely on PERM, H‑1B, H‑1B1, or E‑3 sponsorship should consider engaging in the comment process and begin modeling the impact of higher prevailing wages on current and future immigration strategies.
© Jewell Stewart Pratt Beckerson & Carr PC 2026
