The rules of the H-1b visas are changing drastically. First, there was news about the limit on the number of H-1B visas that will be issued to skilled workers from abroad.
And now, the newest developments have revealed that there will be a 47% hike in the h-1b wages.
As per reports, the US immigration attorneys have already filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labour against this wage hike.
Why is a lawsuit being filed against the DOL? Read on to find out all the details!
Wages Of H-1B And Green Card Applicants Increased By 47%
The new rules came into effect from October, wherein, the wage levels have been hiked by as much as 47% for some H-1B and green card applicants in some regions.
Apparently, the increase in wages has been done so as to make it difficult for companies to hire H1B visa holders and turn them to hire their employees locally. Hiking the wages would imply that the profit margins of employers are reduced.
The DOL had announced new wages for highly skilled immigrants such as the H-1B, H-1B1 (nationals of Chile and Singapore), E-3 (Australian citizens), and green card applicants across the four levels, entry level to experienced professionals On October 6.
These levels of wages are calculated based on Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) data, which is based on role, geography, and experience.
In Texas, here are the before and after salaries of Software developers/systems software (engineers):
| Level | Before | After |
| 1 | $61,901 | $91,624 |
| 2 | $80,766 | $119,059 |
| 3 | $99,632 | $146,494 |
| 4 | $118,498 | $173,930 |
This shows that the wages have increased by 47 percent on an average. As per a report by HDFC securities, the median salary of Indian H-1B visa holders is $90,730 per year. An increase of close to 40% in the wages of computer programmers has been noted in two more regions in California.
Lawsuit Filed Against Department of Labour; Will It Help Indian Companies?
The US immigration attorneys are filing a lawsuit against this decision of the Department of Labor (DOL).
The lawsuit is definitely a good thing for Indian IT and tech firms which are the industries that employ the most number of H-1b visa employees.
Experts have said that any new rule is supposed to go through reviews and public feedback before being implemented, which hasnt been done and makes the rule open to any challenges.
This is still a developing story and we’ll keep you informed!
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