H-1B visa bills would lift $60,000 exemption line to about $140,000: what it means

A bill to raise an H-1B visa salary threshold to about $140,000 now has versions in both houses of the US Congress. Republican Representative Glenn Grothman introduced H.R. 10799 in the House on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, and it was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. It follows a Senate bill from Senator Jon Husted of Ohio, the Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act, introduced earlier in October. Both target a rule for H-1B-dependent employers, companies with a large share of H-1B staff. They would replace a fixed $60,000 salary line, unchanged since 1998, with twice the Social Security Administration's National Average Wage Index, close to $140,000 at current levels.

The most common reading of these bills on social media is that they would create a $140,000 minimum salary for H-1B workers. They would not. What the bills change is a narrower rule. When a company is classed as H-1B-dependent, it must normally show that it tried to recruit US workers and did not displace them before hiring an H-1B worker. Workers paid above the $60,000 line, or holding a master's degree, are exempt from those extra steps. Because $60,000 has not changed in nearly three decades, most H-1B hires at these companies now clear it easily.

Raising the line to about $140,000 would pull far more hires at H-1B-dependent firms under the recruitment and non-displacement rules, unless the worker has an advanced degree. The bills' backers frame this as putting American workers first. For employers, it would mean more paperwork and a stronger reason either to pay more or to hire candidates with master's degrees.

For India, this matters because many Indian IT professionals work in the US on H-1B visas, often through outsourcing and IT services firms, the kind of companies the bills' coverage describes as heavily reliant on H-1B staff. Engineers on bachelor's degrees, in mid-level roles paid well below $140,000, would be the group most affected if the bill became law. Students planning to go to the US for work may see an extra reason to complete a master's degree there or in another country.

The bills' chances are uncertain. A similar idea was proposed in 2017 and stalled after committee, and the new bills are only at the first stage.

Short-term: Nothing changes yet. Current rules, including the $60,000 exemption, stay in force. Workers and employers should watch the committee stage rather than act on headlines.

Long-term: If passed, H-1B-dependent IT and outsourcing firms would face more compliance steps for many hires, which could push them to raise pay, hire more locally in the US, prefer master's degree holders, or do more work from India.

Who is affected: Indian IT professionals on or seeking H-1B visas, especially those without a master's degree; Indian and global IT services companies with large H-1B workforces; students planning US careers; and US workers in the same roles.

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