The US extends the waiting time to implement H-1B wage rule

The US has decided to delay implementing a rule calling for more wages for workers on an H-1B visa. The delay will be till November 2022.

The final rule is slated to be published on May 13, 2021, in the Federal Register.

This will cause an 18-month delay to the effective date of the rule. The new timeline will be from May 14, 2021, to November 14, 2022.

As per a notice by the US Department of Labor, the added delay has been the result of a proposal to give sufficient time to thoroughly consider the legal as well as policy issues raised in the rule.

The notice said that this would offer the public a chance to give information on the methods and sources to determine existing levels of wages. These will cover opportunities for employment that employers in the US seek. They will try to fill these opportunities with foreign workers. They will do it either on a permanent or temporary basis. This will be done via

• employment-based immigrant visas or
• via non-immigrant visas like H1B, H1B1, or an E3 visa.

The US Department of Labor open to written comments on the proposed rule. It received 627 comments.

The rule was introduced on January 14, 2021, by the Trump administration. This happened just days before Donald Trump left office as the President of the US.

The Biden administration had made a delay in implementing the rule in US immigration. The Biden administration opened it up for public comments as well as further analysis before going ahead with it.

The rule calls for raising the base wages pertaining to the 4 H-1B wage levels and that of other programs. This is up for implementation in a staggered manner, starting July 2021.

This would considerably increase salaries, particularly at the entry-level. That will make it harder for students and some other categories of medical professionals to get employed at those levels of wages.

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