U.S. Immigration law mandates that a U.S. employer petitioning to hire a foreign worker pay the foreign worker, at a minimum, the prevailing wage for the occupational classification in that specific area of employment. The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay the foreign worker in wages. In doing so, an employer will ensure that the foreign worker’s employment will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers comparably employed. The requirement to pay prevailing wages is required of most employment based visa programs, including the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM application. So, how is a prevailing wage determined? How long does it take? Can I do it myself?
For the H-1B, an employer has three options to obtain a prevailing wage determination (PWD) – (1) request a prevailing wage from the National Prevailing Wage Center; (2) use a wage survey conducted by an independent authoritative source; or (3) use another legitimate source of information. Each of these options has its pros and cons, which an employer must seriously consider when filing to ensure that the Dept. of Labor will certify the prevailing wage rate – factors include waiting time period and the benefit of safe harbor provision. Also, the option to calculate a PWD on one’s own, by using an OES or employer-provided wage survey is no easy task, and can easily become a complicated process.
Carr Maloney, P.C. is pleased to announce that it will continue its 2015-2016 H-1B Petition webinar series on Monday, February 22, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. EST. The topic of the webinar will be the prevailing wage determination process. The webinar can be accessed at carrmaloney.com and will be led by Samir A. Aguirre, Esq., an experienced immigration attorney in the areas of business and family-based matters.
The H-1B Petition webinar will offer general insider tips & guidance to petitioning U.S. employers about the PWD process, and will review in detail the three options mentioned above, and what circumstances warrant the use of each. It is vital that an employer seek legal counsel to correctly calculate a prevailing wage rate, if necessary, and strategically maneuver the PWD process to improve the employer’s chances for H-B approval. We hope that you are able to join us for our discussion of the PWD process!