US senator seeks $140,000 H-1B wage threshold

Washington: A Republican US senator has introduced legislation that would effectively raise a key H-1B salary threshold from $60,000 to nearly $140,000, arguing that the current level is outdated and allows some companies to avoid requirements designed to protect American workers.

Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio introduced the Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act on Tuesday. The legislation would replace the fixed $60,000 threshold with a formula tied to the Social Security Administration's National Average Wage Index.

The change would apply to H-1B dependent employers — companies whose H-1B workers make up more than a specified share of their workforce.

Under current law, such employers generally must attest that they have first sought to hire American workers before sponsoring additional H-1B employees.

Employers, however, are exempt from that requirement if an H-1B worker is paid at least $60,000 a year or holds a master's degree or higher.

Husted's proposal targets the salary exemption.

“For decades, companies have been able to sidestep hiring American workers because of a salary threshold that hasn’t budged since 1998. That’s not modernization, that’s a loophole,” Husted said.

“This bill simply asks that when a company is heavily reliant on these visas and wants to bring in more H-1B workers, they shouldn’t be relying on an outdated law to get around offering these jobs to qualified American workers first,” he said.

The $60,000 level was established in 1998 and was intended to represent twice the Social Security Administration's National Average Wage Index at the time, according to Husted's office.

It has not subsequently been adjusted for inflation or wage growth.

The National Average Wage Index is now nearly $70,000, according to the material released by the senator. Applying the original formula today would therefore put the H-1B salary threshold at nearly $140,000.

Under Husted's bill, the fixed $60,000 figure would be replaced by a dynamic threshold set at twice the National Average Wage Index calculated by the Social Security Administration.

That would also mean the threshold would change over time as US wages rise rather than requiring Congress to periodically revise a fixed dollar amount.

“American workers should always come first, and this bill closes an outdated loophole that lets companies bypass them,” Husted said.

The visas are widely used by technology companies and other US employers to recruit foreign professionals for specialised jobs.

The H-1B programme has also been a recurring subject of political debate in Washington. Supporters say it helps US employers obtain specialised talent that may be difficult to find domestically, while critics have argued that parts of the programme can be used to bring in foreign workers at the expense of American employees.

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