Delay Announced in Calculating Prevailing Wages for Final Immigrant Visa Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed an 18-month delay on a final rule for calculating prevailing wages of certain immigrant and nonimmigrant workers. The rule, which was published in January, affects employers seeking to employ foreign works on a permanent or temporary basis through certain immigrant visas or through H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 nonimmigrant visas.

The delay will give the (DOL) sufficient time to thoroughly consider legal and policy issues as well as gather public comments on the sources and methods for determining prevailing wage levels. It will also give agency officials time to compute and validate prevailing wage date for specific occupations and geographic areas, complete necessary system modifications, and conduct public outreach.

Employers can submit comments on the proposed delay at https://www.regulations.gov/.