Prioritizing H‑1B applications by Department of Labor 'wage levels' doesn’t track the actual pay or skill of a job. The metric can classify outsourcing‑firm roles as higher level, so a reform meant to favor top talent could steer more visas to body‑shops. A cleaner rule would rank applications by verified total compensation.
— It shows how a technical metric inside immigration law can reshape who gets to immigrate and work, with knock‑on effects for the U.S. talent pool and public trust.
Oren Cass
2025.09.26
90% relevant
The piece describes DHS keeping the H‑1B lottery but weighting entries by Department of Labor 'wage levels' and critiques that measure as relative within an occupation, not absolute pay or skill—using the 'senior acupuncturist vs AI engineer' example and citing Jeremy Neufeld.
Santi Ruiz
2025.09.26
100% relevant
The article cites IFP research arguing the new H‑1B wage‑level rule will increase visas for Indian outsourcing companies because wage levels are only loosely correlated with actual wages.
Jeremy Neufeld, Santi Ruiz
2025.09.26
90% relevant
The article spotlights DHS’s plan to weight the H‑1B lottery by DOL wage 'levels' and argues this prioritizes tenure within an occupation over true skill or pay, e.g., favoring an experienced low‑paid acupuncturist over a newly minted, highly paid AI PhD—directly aligning with the critique that wage levels don’t map to actual compensation or talent.