The US Department of Labor announced May 13 an 18-month delay to the rule published in the final days of the Trump administration affecting the wages for certain workers on H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 non-immigrant visas.

First issued as an interim final rule by the Trump DOL in October 2020, the rule was blocked in court in December. The Trump administration published its final rule Jan. 14. The Biden administration initially signaled its delay in March.

The final rule affects employers seeking to employ foreign workers on a permanent or temporary basis through certain immigrant visas or through H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 non-immigrant visas. The final rule will now go into effect on Nov. 14, 2022.

The delay will provide the DOL sufficient time to consider the rule’s legal and policy issues thoroughly, and to review the public comments it has received.

The delay will also give agency officials sufficient time to compute and validate prevailing wage data covering specific occupations and geographic areas, complete necessary system modifications and conduct public outreach.

The final rule finalizing the delay is available in the Federal Register.

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