H-1B salary requirements govern how much employers must pay H-1B workers and how those wages must be documented through the Labor Condition Application process before USCIS petition filing.
H-1B holders who have encountered lottery denials, wage-level disputes, or employer dependency concerns, cap-free alternatives, including O-1A and L-1, eliminate many of these constraints. This article covers what the current minimums are, what your employer is required to pay, and when the weight of the H-1B wage framework makes a cap-free alternative worth evaluating.
Beyond Border attorneys have collectively handled 4,000+ immigration cases across employment-based categories. The guidance in this article draws from that experience advising workers, Founders, and researchers on other lottery-fee alternative visas.
There is no single national minimum salary for an H-1B visa. The required wage is determined by occupation, location, and the skill level associated with the specific role.
A software engineer in Austin, Texas, has a different floor than a software engineer in San Francisco, California, even if their titles and responsibilities are identical.
Under 20 CFR 655.731, the employer must pay the required wage, defined as the higher one between:
In practice, a software developer at Level II in Austin, Texas and the same role at Level II in San Francisco, California, will have different prevailing wage floors because the OEWS survey collects data by metropolitan statistical area, and the labor markets differ materially.
Generally, the base salary alone must meet or exceed the required wage. According to DOL Fact Sheet #62G, discretionary performance bonuses, equity awards, restricted stock units, and unvested options do not count toward satisfying the prevailing wage floor.
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) publishes prevailing wage data through the Foreign Labor Application Gateway. This is the authoritative tool for both employers filing Labor Condition Applications and workers verifying what their employer is required to pay. The steps below are the same ones an employer uses when attesting wages on an LCA.
Under "Select a Data Series," choose the most recent range, currently covering July 2025 to June 2026 as of this writing. Wage data updates annually, so confirm that you are using the current series.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes are the government's taxonomy for job categories, and wage data is published at the SOC level, not by job title. Search for the right SOC code by keyword on the DOL's Occupational Information Network. Look at the job description alongside the code. The SOC that matches your actual duties, not just your job title, is the correct one to use.
Enter the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of the intended worksite. The prevailing wage is set at the MSA level, not by city, county, or zip code. If you work in Manhattan, the MSA is the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA.
The tool returns four figures, Level I to Level IV, reflecting different points in the wage distribution for that occupation in that location. Your required minimum is the level that corresponds to your experience and the complexity of your role. Your employer's LCA must attest to a wage at or above the level that accurately reflects your role.
Attorneys at Beyond Border recommend that if the figure your employer has attested on your LCA is lower than the level that accurately describes your role and experience, raise it with your immigration counsel before filing any petition.
The DOL structures prevailing wages in four tiers based on the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. Each level corresponds to a wage percentile paid to U.S. workers in that occupation and area.
Under the current system, a worker at Level I earns at or above the 17th percentile for their occupation in their area, meaning 83% of U.S. workers in comparable roles earn more. However, there is a proposed DOL NRPM rule, in which Level I would be set at the 34th percentile, a floor that brings more workers closer to the local labor market median.
Beginning with the FY 2027 cap season, your wage level at H-1B registration determines how many times your entry appears in the selection pool.
USCIS now assigns each registration a number of pool entries equal to its OEWS wage level:
According to Beyond Border attorneys, if you are registered by multiple employers at different wage levels, USCIS will use the lowest level for your entry. This is to prevent employers from inflating your salary to increase your chances of being selected.
The practical implication for a worker in salary negotiations is this: a Level II wage offer produces two pool entries and a Level III offer produces three. If negotiating the offered wage from US$115,000 to US$130,000 crosses the Level III threshold for your occupation and MSA, that negotiation increases your take-home pay and probability of selection.
It’s best to know the Level II and Level III thresholds for your specific SOC code and location before salary discussions to help you during negotiations.
The H-1B wage framework gives you a set of legally enforceable rights. Here is what the regulations require.
Under 20 CFR 655.731(a), your employer is expected to pay the required wage, which is the higher of:
If you are not working because there is no assigned project, no client engagement, or no permit, and those conditions result from your employer, not your choice, your employer must still pay you the required wage. The only exceptions are voluntary unpaid leave you request or an illness your employer's benefit plan does not cover.
The wage and working-condition attestations in the LCA are binding from the first day of H-1B employment. The employer's commitment begins when the worker begins work under H-1B authorization.
The employer may increase wages at any time. A salary reduction below the LCA-certified wage requires that a new LCA reflecting the lower wage be certified first. Even after a new LCA, the wage cannot be reduced below the prevailing wage floor. If you receive notice of a salary reduction and you are on H-1B, ask whether a new LCA has been filed and certified, and whether the reduced figure is above the prevailing wage for your role.
The prevailing wage must be satisfied through guaranteed cash compensation. Discretionary bonuses, stock options, RSUs, and equity awards are excluded. Guaranteed signing bonuses and guaranteed relocation bonuses may count if contractually committed and unconditional, per DOL Fact Sheet #62G.
DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement of H-1B wage provisions has intensified in recent periods. Workers who believe their employer is not meeting the required wage may file a complaint with the DOL Wage and Hour Division. Civil penalties for H-1B wage violations range from US$1,000 to US$35,000 per violation, and back-wage orders are a common solution.
Your H-1B is tied to the worksite listed in your certified LCA, and the prevailing wage in that LCA reflects the labor market of that specific location.
When you work remotely from a different metropolitan area, a different prevailing wage applies, and in most cases, a new LCA is required before work begins.
Here’s a common scenario;
Your H-1B was approved with an LCA for New York, NY (New York-Newark-Jersey City MSA). Your employer offers you the option to work fully remote from Austin, Texas. The Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA has different prevailing wages for your occupation than the New York MSA, and your LCA does not cover Austin.
Under DOL Fact Sheet #62J, a new LCA covering Austin must be certified, and an amended H-1B petition filed before you begin working from that location.
The rule within an MSA is different. If you move to a new worksite within the same MSA as the certified LCA location, you won’t need a new LCA. Your employer must post an LCA notice at the new worksite for 10 business days and update the Public Access File.
A short-term placement exception also permits work at a new location without a new LCA for up to 30 workdays per year (60 workdays if you maintain ties to the original worksite), subject to conditions.
USCIS has increased scrutiny of location compliance in Requests for Evidence in recent periods. If your role is fully remote and your employer registers you for the next H-1B lottery, confirm that the worksite location reflected in the registration matches the MSA they will use for your LCA.
The H-1B wage framework has a lot of binding obligations that continue throughout the duration of your authorized employment. For workers tired of the complexities, Beyond Border attorneys can evaluate whether your profile supports an alternative pathway. These include;
The O-1A visa applies to individuals with extraordinary ability in science, education, business, or athletics. It is not subject to the annual H-1B cap, the lottery, or any prevailing wage obligation. There is also no LCA requirement.
A U.S. employer, a U.S. agent, or, in most cases, the beneficiary's own LLC or corporation files the petition on their behalf. The standard is extraordinary ability, defined as a level of expertise indicating the person is among the small percentage at the very top of the field.
Engineers, AI researchers, product leaders, and Founders with documented third-party recognition of their work regularly meet the threshold. Learn more about the O-1A visa and how to qualify.
The EB-2 NIW is a green card pathway that is not subject to the H-1B cap or any prevailing wage obligation.
However, the petitioner must demonstrate that their work is in an area of substantial merit and national importance, that they are well-positioned to advance that work, and that waiving the normal job-offer requirement benefits the United States.
It is self-petitioned, meaning no employer sponsor is required. Researchers, engineers, AI professionals, healthcare innovators, and Founders whose work has demonstrable national-scale impact are regularly well-positioned for this pathway.
Neither the O-1A nor the EB-2 NIW is the right path for every worker. Both require documented evidence of achievement that meets a defined standard, and for some workers, the H-1B is the correct and sufficient pathway.
But, if the H-1B wage framework is adding complexity to your employment situation, and your profile may meet the O-1A or NIW threshold, you might need to consult with an immigration specialist before the next registration window.
Beyond Border's attorneys will evaluate your qualifying profile directly and tell you honestly whether you meet the O-1A or EB-2 NIW threshold, and what would need to change if the evidence is not yet there. Schedule a consultation today.
There is no single national minimum. The required wage is the higher of two benchmarks: the Minimum wage set by the government for your occupation and area, or the actual wage paid to other U.S. colleagues with similar experience and qualifications as you.
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool. Select the current data series, enter your SOC code, and select your Metropolitan Statistical Area. The tool returns four wage figures, Level I through Level IV, for that occupation in that location.
Both levels show the prevailing wage for the same occupation and location, but at different points in the wage distribution. Level I is currently set at the 17th percentile of OEWS wage data, meaning 83% of U.S. workers in comparable roles earn more. Level IV is set at the 67th percentile. The correct level for a given position is determined by the role's complexity, required experience, and degree of independent judgment.
Yes. Each registration receives pool entries equal to its OEWS wage level: Level I receives 1 entry, Level II receives 2, Level III receives 3, and Level IV receives 4. The weighted system was designed to increase selection probability for higher-wage registrations and reduce it for lower-wage ones.
Your employer must pay the prevailing wage through guaranteed cash compensation, specifically, base salary plus any guaranteed unconditional bonuses. Discretionary performance bonuses, stock options, RSUs, and other equity-based compensation do not count toward satisfying the required wage. If your LCA attests a base salary of US$105,000 and the prevailing wage for your role is US$120,000, your employer cannot close that gap with RSUs or a variable bonus.
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