Biden Admin proposes 18 months delay in calculating existing H-1B salaries and other visas

Biden officials have proposed an 18-month delay on the first day of the final antitrust law for certain immigrants and foreign workers, including those on popular H-1B visas.

The proposed delay will give the Department of Labour enough time to process legal and policy issues and  issue a future request for information and gather public opinion on sources and mechanisms for determining existing salary levels, the official release said in a statement on Monday. The proposed law follows the initial 60-day delay announced earlier this month. The department committed the act on January 20, 2021, White House, media reports said.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to hire foreign workers for special jobs that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies rely on it to employ tens of thousands of workers each year from countries such as India and China. The Department of Labour said in a joint statement published earlier this month that they were considering whether to propose a delay in the deadline or not. The Department that proposed the delay is in line with the President's directive as set out in the memorandum of January 20, 2021, from Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled "Regulatory Freeze Pending Review."

The Department invited written comments from the public for 15 days regarding the proposed delay of the effective date. All comments were to be received by February 16, 2021. Published in January 2021, the final law applies to employers who want to hire foreign workers permanently or temporarily with certain immigration visas or with H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 foreign visas, the Department of Labour said. While the E3 visa is the only one for Australian citizens, the H-1B1 visa is for people from Singapore and Chile.

The proposed delays will also give corporate executives enough time to calculate and verify existing wage data covering specific jobs and areas, complete the necessary program changes, and make public access. The bill was passed by Trump's administration, who had called for a review of compulsory wages after losing a court battle with organizations including the Bay Area Council over the first nature. By default, low-level H-1B employees will need to earn at least 35 percent of their current salary for their type of work and location, compared to 45 percent in the first version. Highly qualified employees will need to earn a 90th percentile, compared to a 95th percentile.

According to the Department of Labour, delays in the proposed law on the effective date will result in a reduction in the cost of transfers in the form of higher wages from employers to H-1B employees. In addition, the proposed law would delay the weight loss potential in the event that employers require higher pay than H-1B employees who are willing to accept results on H-1B caps that they do not meet, he said. The Department has seen that the annual H-1B cap is achieved in the first five business days each year from fiscal 2014 to 2020.

"While the Department expects salary increases to encourage other employers to replace domestic workers with H-1B workers, as long as domestic workers are available for the job, the same number of H-1B visas will be allocated internally in future caps," he said.