H-1B Wage Threshold Modernization

Summary#

The Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It would replace a $60,000 wage figure in a provision about exempt H-1B workers with a threshold of at least twice the national average wage index for the most recently calculated year. Its stated goal is to modernize that wage test; the bill was introduced and is not law.

  • Employers would use the new indexed threshold for the exemption-related wage test covered by the amendment.
  • The bill does not set a general wage floor for all H-1B workers or change other H-1B rules in the text provided.

What it means for you#

  • Employers: If you rely on this exemption for an H-1B worker, the wage figure in the test would change from $60,000 to twice the specified index. The bill does not explain what happens if a worker does not meet the test.
  • H-1B workers: The bill changes this specific wage test. It does not say that every H-1B worker must be paid the new amount.
  • Other workers and the public: The bill does not guarantee any hiring or wage outcome for U.S. workers.

Money#

No cost information is in the available material.

  • The bill sets no appropriation, fee, or fine.
  • No publicly available information gives the index amount or estimates employer, government, or administrative costs.

What is unclear#

  • The bill does not give the dollar value of the index or explain when the “most recently calculated year” would be chosen.
  • The provided text does not explain what the exemption is from, or the consequences of not meeting this wage test.
  • The bill does not say when the change would take effect.
  • The INA’s parent text was not supplied, so the exemption’s full operation and how this change fits with other current requirements could not be verified.

Case for#

  • A possible argument for the bill is that linking the threshold to a wage index would update the test using a measure of wages, rather than leaving it at a fixed $60,000.
  • The change is limited to the specified exemption-related wage test; it does not rewrite other H-1B rules in the provided text.

Case against#

  • The bill does not state the resulting dollar threshold, so employers and workers cannot tell from this text alone how much the test would require.
  • The national index is not tailored in the bill to a particular occupation or location. One concern is that a single national measure may not reflect differences in wages across jobs or places.
  • The bill does not explain the exemption’s consequences or how employers should apply the changed test.