Proposed Adjustment of Prevailing Wage Thresholds for U.S. Non-Immigrant Work Visas
關於美國非移民工作簽證現行工資門檻的擬議調整
Introduction
The United States Department of Labor has introduced a regulatory proposal to increase the minimum salary requirements for foreign nationals employed under specific visa programs.
美國勞工部提出了一項監管方案，擬提高在特定簽證計劃下受僱的外籍人士的最低薪資要求。
Main Body
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, titled 'Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States,' seeks to recalibrate wage levels across four experience tiers. The Department of Labor asserts that the current benchmarks, established two decades prior, are insufficient to prevent the depression of wages for domestic workers. Under the proposed framework, entry-level wages would rise from $73,279 to $97,746 (a 33.39% increase), while Level II, III, and IV thresholds would increase to $123,212, $147,333, and $175,464, respectively. These adjustments would apply to H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM labor certification processes, with final figures varying by metropolitan area.
這份名為「改善美國某些外籍人士臨時與永久就業的工資保障」的擬議規則制定通知，旨在重新校準四個經驗等級的工資水平。勞工部主張，現行基準是在二十年前建立的，不足以防止本土勞工的工資被壓低。在擬議的框架下，入門級工資將從 73,279 美元調升至 97,746 美元（增幅 33.39%），而第二、第三及第四級的門檻將分別增加至 123,212 美元、147,333 美元及 175,464 美元。這些調整將適用於 H-1B、H-1B1、E-3 及 PERM 勞工認證程序，最終金額將依據大都會地區而有所不同。
This initiative follows a presidential order issued on September 19, 2025, which simultaneously mandated the revision of these wage levels and instituted a $100,000 fee for H-1B candidates applying from outside the United States. Historically, a similar attempt by the administration in 2020 was invalidated by legal challenges due to a lack of prior notification and public commentary. Consequently, the current proposal is subject to a public comment period ending May 26.
此舉是繼 2025 年 9 月 19 日發布的總統令之後，該命令同時要求修訂這些工資水平，並對從美國境外申請 H-1B 的候選人徵收 10 萬美元的費用。從歷史上看，政府在 2020 年的一次類似嘗試因缺乏事前通知和公眾評論，而在法律挑戰下被判定無效。因此，目前的提案將進入公眾評論期，直至 5 月 26 日結束。
Stakeholder reactions are bifurcated. Proponents argue that higher wage floors ensure that only highly specialized talent is imported, thereby preventing labor market distortion. Conversely, critics contend that the increased fiscal burden may preclude smaller enterprises from recruiting entry-level foreign professionals. Financial projections from immigration data firms Lawfully and Threshold suggest that the primary employers of white-collar foreign talent could incur costs of $18 billion in the first year, potentially escalating to $43 billion over three years as existing visas undergo renewal at the revised rates.
利益相關者的反應呈現兩極化。支持者認為，較高的工資底線可確保僅引入高度專業的人才，從而防止勞動力市場扭曲。相反，批評者則認為，增加的財務負擔可能會使小型企業無法招聘入門級的外籍專業人士。根據移民數據公司 Lawfully 和 Threshold 的財務預測，聘僱外籍白領人才的主要雇主在第一年可能承擔 180 億美元的成本，且隨著現有簽證按修訂後的率級續約，三年內成本可能攀升至 430 億美元。
Conclusion
The Department of Labor is currently reviewing public testimony before finalizing the rule to adjust prevailing wage levels.
勞工部目前正在審核公眾證詞，隨後將定案調整現行工資水平的規則。
Vocabulary Learning
The Architecture of Institutional Nominalization & Precision
To transcend the B2 plateau and achieve C2 mastery, a student must shift from describing actions to constructing conceptual states. This text is a goldmine of Institutional Nominalization—the process of turning verbs into nouns to create a formal, objective, and authoritative tone.
⚡ The 'C2 Pivot': From Process to State
Compare these two ways of conveying the same information:
- B2 (Action-oriented): The government wants to change the wages because they think the old ones are too low and keep domestic wages down.
- C2 (State-oriented): The Department of Labor seeks to recalibrate wage levels... to prevent the depression of wages for domestic workers.
The Linguistic Mechanism: Note how "recalibrate" and "depression" function here. In a C2 context, we don't just "lower wages"; we cause the depression of wages. This transforms a simple action into a socio-economic phenomenon.
🔍 Dissecting the "High-Density" Lexis
The article employs specific pairings that signal a high-level academic register. To master this, you must stop using general verbs (like do, make, have) and adopt precise collocation pairs:
- "Bifurcated reactions" Instead of "people disagree," the author describes the state of the disagreement as a split (bifurcation).
- "Preclude... from recruiting" A sophisticated alternative to "stop" or "prevent," specifically used when a condition makes an action impossible.
- "Labor market distortion" This is a compound noun phrase. C2 writers group nouns together to create a single complex concept, reducing the need for prepositional phrases (e.g., instead of "the way the labor market is distorted").
🛠 Scholarly Application: The "Nuance Shift"
Observe the word "Invalidated." A B2 student might say "the court cancelled the rule." However, invalidated suggests that the rule was fundamentally flawed in its legal logic from the start.
C2 Strategy: When analyzing a text, identify the nominalized core (e.g., "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking"). Ask yourself: How does turning this action into a noun change the power dynamic of the sentence? It removes the 'person' and emphasizes the 'procedure,' which is the hallmark of professional, high-stakes English discourse.