H-1B Prevailing Wages Updated July 1. The Much Bigger NPRM Is Still Pending. Here Is What Each One Does.

What changed on July 1 — and how much

On July 1, 2026, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification published updated prevailing wage data drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. This is the routine annual update — it happens every July 1 and sets the wage floor for H-1B and PERM filings through June 2027. Any Labor Condition Application filed with DOL on or after July 1 must use the new figures.

The numbers went up, as they do every year. A software developer in an entry-level position — Level I — in the New York metro area now requires approximately $103,000 as the prevailing wage, up from roughly $95,500 in the prior wage year, an increase of about 8 percent. In San Francisco, the same occupation and level sits around $135,700, up from about $130,000 — roughly a 4 percent increase. These moves reflect changes in the underlying BLS survey data, not a policy decision. Increases vary by occupation and metro area but run in the low single digits as a percentage for most roles.

For most employers and workers, this annual update is background noise — predictable, modest, and easily accounted for in budgeting. The more consequential story is the one that did not happen on July 1: the Department of Labor's March 2026 proposed rule, which would raise those same wages by 21 to 33 percent, is still sitting in post-comment review with no publication date announced.

How the four wage levels are set

Prevailing wages under H-1B and PERM are organized into four tiers. Level I covers entry-level positions where workers perform routine tasks under close supervision. Level IV covers fully experienced practitioners in senior or specialized roles. Levels II and III fall in between. The level assigned to a specific position determines the minimum wage the employer must certify on an LCA or PERM application.

Each level is pegged to a specific percentile of wage data for the occupation in the geographic area where the work is performed. Under rules that have been in effect for years, Level I corresponds to the 17th percentile of OEWS data for that occupation-location combination. Level II is the 34th percentile, Level III the 50th, and Level IV the 67th. The annual July 1 update does not touch these percentile anchors. What changes is the dollar amount that falls at each percentile as the BLS survey data refreshes. The 17th percentile of software developer wages in New York was about $95,500 last year. This year it is around $103,000. The floor moved because the underlying wage data moved, not because anything in the regulatory methodology changed.

For employers with existing certified H-1B LCAs, the update does not require immediate wage increases. An LCA certified before July 1 retains its certified wage obligation until it expires or requires amendment. The update affects new LCAs. Any employer filing a new H-1B petition, extension, or amendment on or after July 1 must ensure the offered wage on the new LCA meets or exceeds the current prevailing wage for the applicable occupation, location, and wage level.

The NPRM that would change everything

On March 26, 2026, DOL published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register proposing to fundamentally revise the percentile anchors that define each wage level. The rule, titled 'Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States,' would move Level I from the 17th percentile to the 34th. Level II from the 34th to the 50th. Level III from the 50th to the 67th. Level IV from the 67th to the 88th.

The dollar impact would be substantial. A software developer at Level I in San Francisco currently requires approximately $135,700. Under the proposed methodology, the same occupation and location at Level I would require approximately $181,000 — an increase of about $45,300, or roughly 33 percent. DOL's own estimate in the rulemaking document put the average certified wage increase across all H-1B positions at approximately $14,000 per year. That average understates the impact at Level I and Level II positions in high-cost metropolitan areas where H-1B concentration is highest.

The proposed rule would affect not just H-1B but also H-1B1, E-3 visa holders, and PERM labor certification filings. It would raise the economic floor for employer sponsorship across the board — consistent with the current administration's stated policy objectives around the H-1B program.

Why the NPRM is not in effect

The public comment period on the March 2026 NPRM closed on May 26, 2026. As of early July 2026, no final rule has been published in the Federal Register and no withdrawal has been announced. The rule sits in post-comment review, where DOL must work through the public submissions — reportedly substantial in volume — and decide whether to finalize, modify, or withdraw it. There is no statutory deadline for how quickly an agency must move from comment closure to final rule. Rulemakings of this complexity routinely take twelve months or more.

There is also an active legal argument that the proposed methodology cannot survive judicial review. A report analyzed in a Forbes article from May 26, 2026 concluded that the proposed wage percentile increases are likely inconsistent with specific statutory language in the INA governing H-1B wage requirements — that the statute constrains DOL's authority to set the percentile anchors and that the proposed levels exceed that authority. This is not the first time DOL has attempted dramatic prevailing wage increases and encountered legal resistance. A similar wage rule finalized in October 2020 as an interim final rule, without notice-and-comment, was vacated by a federal district court in June 2021 on APA procedural grounds. This NPRM used proper notice-and-comment to address that procedural vulnerability — but a substantive legal challenge remains a real risk if the rule is finalized.

Whether DOL finalizes the rule in its current form, modifies it, or ultimately abandons it is not knowable today. What is clear is that as of July 5, 2026, the NPRM is a proposal. It is not law. It has no effective date.

What this means for your LCA or PERM filing right now

For employers filing new H-1B petitions, extensions, or amendments after July 1, the immediate action is to verify the offered wage against the updated prevailing wage data. The new wage tables for the July 2026–June 2027 wage year are available on the DOL FLAG system at flag.dol.gov. If your HR or legal team ran prevailing wage checks before July 1 and an LCA needs to be filed now, run the check again using current data.

For PERM labor certification, the same applies to new SWA requests. Any prevailing wage determination submitted to a State Workforce Agency after July 1 will return a result based on the new wage year data. If your PERM labor certification was already approved by DOL and you are waiting on the I-140 stage, the wage on that certified application is locked in. A subsequent I-140 does not require PERM re-certification.

On whether to rush a PERM filing to lock in current wages before a potential NPRM finalization: this is a legitimate consideration, not a reason to panic. If an employer is ready and the application is substantively complete, filing under current wage data before any NPRM effective date is a reasonable risk mitigation move. But rushing an incomplete PERM application creates its own hazards — an audit, a denial, or a deficiency that resets the timeline entirely. The timing calculus depends on how close to ready the application actually is, how sensitive the specific occupation's wages are, and how the employer weighs the risk of the NPRM against the risk of filing prematurely.

What people on the forums keep getting wrong

There is a persistent conflation in immigration forums between the annual July 1 OEWS update and the DOL NPRM. They are not the same thing. The annual update happened. Wages moved up a few percent. This is not a policy change and not the NPRM. It will happen again next July 1 regardless of what the NPRM does.

Reading that prevailing wages went up on July 1, 2026, and concluding the NPRM is now in effect is the wrong inference. The July 1 numbers reflect the routine annual data update within the existing methodology — percentile anchors unchanged, dollar amounts slightly higher. If and when the NPRM is finalized, the increases will be far larger, clearly announced in the Federal Register with a specific effective date, and will give employers time to adjust. None of that has happened.

What to watch before the end of 2026

If DOL moves to finalize the NPRM before the end of 2026, the signal will be a Final Rule published in the Federal Register. Final rules under this kind of rulemaking typically include an implementation window of 60 to 90 days between publication and effective date — giving employers and practitioners time to audit current H-1B programs and prepare for the wage changes on future LCAs. The Federal Register publication is the definitive signal. Not media coverage, not forum speculation.

If finalized, the rule would apply to H-1B LCAs and PERM SWA requests submitted after its effective date. Certifications already in hand before the effective date are not retroactively affected. There is no requirement to immediately increase wages for currently employed H-1B workers whose LCAs were certified before the effective date. But any new LCA for those workers filed after the effective date would need to comply with the new wage levels.

This article is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. Prevailing wage requirements vary by occupation, geographic area, wage level, and the regulatory framework in effect at the time of filing. The DOL's proposed rule has not been finalized and is subject to change. Consult a licensed immigration attorney or employment counsel for guidance specific to your situation.