(INDIANA) Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is leading a 13-state coalition backing a Department of Labor proposal that would raise prevailing wages across the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM programs during the FY 2027 cap cycle.

The proposal arrives in a cap season already reshaped by a new selection system. USCIS finalized weighted H-1B selection on December 23, 2025, and made it effective on February 27, 2026. The agency also kept the one-registration-per-beneficiary rule, which limits duplicate filings for the same worker and is meant to curb multi-employer stacking.

The wage rule sits with the Department of Labor, not USCIS. Its formal title is Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States, Docket No. ETA-2026-0001. The proposal was published on March 27, 2026.

Rokita and the states supporting the rule argue that current H-1B wage levels are set too low. Their filing describes the change as a correction to wage formulas that they say made it easier to hire lower-paid foreign workers in place of U.S. workers, especially in technical fields.

The proposal would sharply lift the percentile bands used for prevailing wages. Level I would move from the 17th percentile to the 34th percentile, an increase of about 33%. Level II would move from the 34th to the 52nd percentile. Level III would rise from the 50th to the 70th percentile. Level IV would jump from the 67th to the 88th percentile.

That structure matters more in 2026 than it did in prior years because the selection system now favors higher wage offers. Under the weighted rule, a petition tied to a Level IV wage offer gets four entries in the selection pool, while a Level I wage offer gets one. The old random lottery treated qualifying registrations the same.

📅 FY 2027 H-1B cap season: Registration ran in March 2026, selections were issued after the registration window closed, and approved cap cases can start work on October 1, 2026.

The practical effect is a double pressure point on employers. A higher offered wage can improve selection odds under the weighted system, but the DOL proposal would also raise the floor for what counts as the prevailing wage. Companies that relied on Level I or lower-end Level II wage planning face the biggest adjustment.

DOL estimates the average added wage cost for small entities at about $20,000 annually. The proposal also projects that some entry-level technical roles could move to a minimum near $97,746. That number will vary by occupation code and metro area, but it shows the scale of the change behind the phrase H-1B wage raises.

A separate 2025 measure raised the cost further. A presidential proclamation issued in September 2025 imposed an additional $100,000 fee for certain H-1B applicants. Rokita’s coalition cited that surcharge as another tool against what it calls cheap labor practices.

FY 2027 petitioners still face the standard cap structure of 65,000 regular-cap numbers and 20,000 advanced-degree numbers. Basic filing costs remain, including the $215 registration fee, $780 Form I-129 filing fee, the $500 fraud fee, and the $750 or $1,500 ACWIA fee. Premium processing remains $2,805 if requested.

USCIS has not yet published a final FY 2027 registration total or a confirmed overall selection rate in the material at issue here. That leaves direct year-over-year lottery math incomplete. The structural comparison is clearer: FY 2026 relied on beneficiary-based registration to reduce duplicate entries, while FY 2027 layered wage-weighted selection on top of that same anti-duplication framework.

⚠️ Employer alert: A higher salary offer now affects both compliance and selection strategy. The wage listed on the registration and later filing should match the position, the SOC code, and the work location.

Selected beneficiaries move into the petition stage. The employer must file the H-1B cap petition during the assigned filing window, support the specialty occupation claim, obtain a certified Labor Condition Application, and show it will pay the higher of the prevailing wage or the actual wage. Cases tied to broad duties, unrelated degrees, third-party placements, or Level I wages still face close review.

Registrations that were not selected do not produce a filing right. Those workers may still have options. Cap-exempt H-1B employment remains available at qualifying universities, nonprofit research organizations, and some affiliated entities. Other cases may fit O-1 for individuals with sustained national or international acclaim, L-1 for intracompany transferees, or continued F-1 OPT and STEM OPT work authorization if the timing works.

International graduates are the most exposed if the DOL rule moves forward in its current form. Many entry-level hires are slotted at Level I. That wage tier would become more expensive and less competitive in selection. Workers already in H-1B status are not untouched. The rule would apply to new LCAs, so extensions and transfers could require a higher wage at the next filing cycle.

Employers planning for FY 2028 should expect the next registration window in March 2027, unless USCIS changes the calendar. Wage planning will need to start earlier than it did under the old random lottery model. That means checking the correct occupational classification, testing the offered salary against current wage data, and deciding early whether a case belongs in the cap, a cap-exempt category, or another visa track.

💼 Employee tip: Ask for the SOC code, worksite location, and wage level used for the case. Those three details drive prevailing wage analysis and now affect selection odds.

Employers should review 2027 and 2028 hiring budgets now, especially for entry-level technical roles, and compare each planned salary against current prevailing wage data before the next registration season. Employees should confirm whether the offered wage meets the required level for the location and whether a cap-exempt or alternative visa route is available if a cap case is not selected. USCIS H-1B program pages and DOL wage data remain the starting points for both sides.

📋 Official Resources:
– [H-1B Program](https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations)
– [Cap Season](https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations/h-1b-cap-season)
– [Prevailing Wages](https://flcdatacenter.com)