Proclamation "Restriction On Entry Of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," released on Sept. 19, 2025 (the "Proclamation"), directs the Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reform prevailing wage leveling and change the H-1B registration to a weighted selection format.
Specifically, the Proclamation's Section 4, "Amending the Prevailing Wage Levels," includes the following provisions:
- Sub-section (a) directs the DOL secretary to "... initiate a rulemaking to revise the prevailing wage levels to levels consistent with the policy goals of this proclamation ..."
- Sub-section (b) directs the DHS secretary to "... initiate a rulemaking to prioritize the admission as nonimmigrants of high-skilled and high-paid aliens ..."
Prevailing Wage Reform
The Proclamation asserts that the H-1B program is being abused by employers by allowing lower-paid, lower-skilled workers to replace highly skilled American workers as "artificially low labor costs are incentivized by the program." The Trump Administration is calling on DOL to adjust the current prevailing wage levels, claiming that raising the four wage levels would stem any further abuse.
Weighted Selection During H-1B Cap Registration
DHS has taken action on the Proclamation's second directive already, issuing a proposed rule on Sept. 24, 2025, titled "Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions." The proposed rule will be open to public comments until Oct. 24, 2025.
Highlights:
- The rule intends to change the regulations related to the H-1B lottery, replacing the simple random drawing to a weighted selection system when the demand for these visas exceeds the 85,000 limit under current regulations.
- Under this scheme, H-1B registrations with the highest Bureau
of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
(OEWS) wage level (from Levels I to IV) are assigned more
"entries" (thus, higher odds):
- Wage Level IV: Entered 4 times
- Wage Level III: Entered 3 times
- Wage Level II: Entered 2 times
- Wage Level I: Entered 1 time
- The proposed rule does not appear to change the prevailing wage levels themselves; rather, it tilts the odds in favor of registrants with the highest OEWS wage levels.
Between the Proclamation and the proposed rule, the Administration is clearly shifting the H-1B program in favor of higher-wage, higher-skill positions.
If the rule is finalized and adopted, employers, particularly smaller ones, may struggle to adapt to higher wage structures. The rule also could reduce the share of entry-level H-1B roles.
Employers may need to reassess their budgets for H-1B sponsorship or their hiring strategies (such as making fewer hires; identifying only high-value, high-skilled roles for sponsorship; and exploring other possible work visa classifications).
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