According to a draft scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on February 1, 2021, the Biden administration plans to delay the effective date of the Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States rule (Prevailing Wage Rule) for 60 days while the Department of Labor (DOL) conducts a new comment period and reviews “any questions of fact, law or policy the rule may raise.”

In the final days of the Trump administration, DOL published a rule designed to raise minimum wages for high-skilled workers. With a March 15, 2021, effective date, that rule would start to affect H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 work visa cases, as well as PERM filings in July 2021. Among other things, Level I and Level II wages moved up a step, making it more difficult to hire entry-level employees.