H-1B visa: US issues notification to further delay mandatory minimum pay

Proposes to shift the effective date of the rule to May 14

The Biden administration on Friday issued a formal notification to delay the implementation of the previous Trump regime’s controversial rule to raise mandatory minimum pay for foreign workers on the H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals.

The Department of Labour in its federal notification published on Friday said that it is considering whether to propose a further delay of the final rule's effective date and accompanying implementation periods that are currently scheduled to take effect on May 14, 2021, and July 1, 2021, respectively.

Before further delaying the effective date and implementation periods, the Department will provide the public an opportunity to comment, it said.

On February 1, the Department of Labour proposed to delay the effective date of the final rule entitled “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States,” published in the Federal Register on January 14, 2021, for a period of 60 days.

The Department proposed to delay the effective date of the final rule until May 14, 2021, in accordance with the Presidential directive as expressed in the memorandum of January 20, 2021, from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.” As stated in the proposal, the 60-day delay would allow agency officials the opportunity to review any questions of fact, law, or policy. The Department invited written comments from the public for 15 days on the proposed delay of effective date. All comments had to be received by February 16, 2021.

The Department received 57 comments from the stakeholder community. It has reviewed the comments received in response to the proposal and will delay the effective date of the final rule for a period of 60 days, said the notification.