H-1B News This Week: Prevailing Wage Rule, IBM Ends Sponsorship, and a New Good Moral Character Memo (Nov 9–14)

For the week of November 9–14, 2026, the key immigration developments for H-1B and green card holders are the Department of Labor sending its final prevailing wage rule to the White House for approval, IBM announcing it will end visa sponsorship for most consulting positions, and a new USCIS policy memo on good moral character for naturalization applicants.

In short

• The H-1B prevailing wage increase rule is at the final stage at OMB; no effective date has been announced yet
• Only PWD and LCA filings submitted after the rule’s effective date will fall under the new thresholds, including extensions
• Wage percentiles will rise across all levels: Level 1 from 17th to 34th, Level 2 from 34th to 52nd, Level 3 from 50th to 70th, Level 4 from 67th to 80th
• IBM Consulting is ending H-1B and green card sponsorship for most applicants — the division has roughly 150,000 employees
• A new USCIS good moral character memo could affect naturalization for sponsors whose dependents receive benefits like SNAP

The Prevailing Wage Rule: What Changed and Where It Stands

The U.S. Department of Labor has sent a revised version of its prevailing wage rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) — this rule governs how the minimum allowable salary for H-1B workers is calculated. Once OMB signs off, the rule gets published in its final form.

The proposed rule was published on March 27, after which it went through a public comment period that drew, by available accounts, several thousand responses. With that period now closed, the rule is at the final stage before approval, but no effective date has been announced yet; the exact wording will only be known once it’s published in the Federal Register.

The rule will apply only to new cases: prevailing wage determination and LCA (Labor Condition Application) filings submitted after the effective date, including extensions of already-issued approvals. Wage determinations already issued and LCAs already approved will not be reopened. The private prevailing wage determination service remains available — the rule does not eliminate it.

New H-1B Wage Levels: The Percentile Breakdown

Under the proposed rule, prevailing wage percentiles for all four H-1B wage levels will rise, and the jumps are significant.

Level	Current	Proposed
Level 1	17th percentile	34th percentile
Level 2	34th percentile	52nd percentile
Level 3	50th percentile	70th percentile
Level 4	67th percentile	80th percentile

In concrete terms, the gap looks like this: a Level 1 worker currently earning around $73,000 would, under the proposed calculations, need to earn roughly $98,000 — a jump of about a third (exact figures are subject to change once the final rule is published). For Level 2, the gap is even sharper: under the proposed calculations, pay could more than double (exact figures will only be known after the final rule is published).

If a company cannot pay a worker at the new, higher wage level, it won’t be able to sponsor that person for H-1B — that’s the core of the change.

If a company cannot pay a worker at the new, higher wage level, it won’t be able to sponsor that person for H-1B — that’s the core of the change.

Who the New Rule Affects: H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, EB-2/EB-3

The rule covers H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 workers, as well as green card applicants in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories going through PERM. The logic is straightforward: if a company can’t afford the higher prevailing wage, it effectively can’t keep sponsoring H-1B for that position.

The rule’s effective date hasn’t been announced yet, and that date determines who the changes will reach:

• prevailing wage determinations and LCAs already issued are not affected by the new rule;
• new LCA and PERM filings submitted on or after the effective date will be calculated under the new figures;
• extension filings for an existing LCA could also fall under the new requirements if they’re submitted after that date.

The final wording will only be known once the final rule is published — right now, only the proposed logic for applying it is known.

IBM Ends H-1B and Green Card Sponsorship: What’s Known

IBM plans to stop sponsoring visas for most applicants within its consulting division, IBM Consulting — the company is reportedly winding down its H-1B and green card programs there. There’s no official release on the company’s website; this is based on reporting from Reuters and Bloomberg, which disclosed the decision indirectly. Both tracks are affected — H-1B extensions and already-filed green card petitions — but exactly which scenario applies and who specifically will be affected is still unknown.

The division’s scale is roughly 150,000 employees, so the potential reach is significant. USCIS data offers a benchmark for the scope of sponsorship: over the past three years, the company received, by available figures, several thousand approved H-1B petitions. Over the same period, the Department of Labor certified somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 LCA (Labor Condition Application) filings for IBM — the source doesn’t give an exact number. An important caveat: these figures cover IBM as a whole company, not just the consulting division, so the actual number of affected employees may differ from the total approval volume.

The division’s scale is roughly 150,000 employees, so the potential reach is significant.

What IBM Employees Should Do as Sponsorship Ends

• Talk to an immigration attorney early, without waiting for an official layoff notice — this allows for a planned, graceful exit rather than scrambling at the last minute.
• Consider an internal transfer within IBM — by available accounts, the company is offering some affected employees roles outside the U.S. or a move to a different position within the corporation.
• Arrange a transfer to a new employer, if the employee already has an approved I-140 petition with IBM — in that case, an H-1B transfer to a new sponsor is possible without losing the priority date.
• Keep in mind that some details are known only from press reports, not from official statements to employees — this applies in particular to the wording around internal transfers or moves outside the U.S.

A similar scenario — a major employer winding down sponsorship — could play out at other companies too: according to one assessment in the source material, the trend toward tighter requirements is making these programs less attractive for businesses, and IBM is unlikely to remain the only example.

What IBM Employees Should Do If Sponsorship Is at Risk

• Talk to an immigration attorney earlyrequiredWithout waiting for an official layoff notice
• Consider an internal transfer within IBMThe company is offering some employees roles outside the U.S. or a different position
• Arrange a transfer to another employer (H-1B transfer)Possible without losing the priority date if I-140 is already approved
• Keep in mind some information is known only from press reportsrequiredThere’s no official statement to employees on the details of transfers

USCIS Good Moral Character Memo: What It Changes

USCIS has issued a new policy memo on the good moral character standard — it applies when reviewing naturalization applications and is relevant to the portion dealing with public benefits. The document lists specific grounds on which an applicant would be found not to meet this standard.

The first ground is a willful failure to support one’s dependents, including parents or other people the applicant is responsible for supporting. The second is a conviction or admission of guilt for public benefits fraud. The third and fourth concern two forms of financial sponsorship: failing to meet obligations under Form I-864 (the affidavit of support filed when sponsoring relatives) and similar obligations under Form I-134.

The logic of the memo is to hold citizenship applicants accountable for the commitments they made on these forms. For most H-1B and green card applicants, this doesn’t create problems — the memo doesn’t directly affect them. The risk falls on those who signed an I-864 for a parent or spouse who then received a means-tested benefit — food stamps (SNAP), for example: the fact that the person the sponsor committed to supporting received such a benefit could become grounds for denying the sponsor’s own naturalization.

Public Benefits and the Citizenship Application: Who Should Pay Attention

Most H-1B and green card applicants are unlikely to be affected by this memo — the standard applies based on specific circumstances, not status itself. The risk falls on those who signed Form I-864 (a sponsor’s commitment to support a parent or spouse) and later received income-based benefits themselves — SNAP, for example. By signing the I-864, the applicant takes on an obligation to support that person, and relying on such benefits runs counter to that obligation. The same logic applies if people who depend on the applicant receive similar benefits — that, too, could be weighed against the applicant.

The risk is low for those who meet their I-864 obligations without issues and haven’t done anything outside the normal course of things. The memo’s wording is subjective and applied case by case, though the document does give examples — one of them being a situation where a person signed an obligation to support a parent, and that parent receives public benefits they’re not entitled to. That is explicitly flagged as a sign of potential trouble for a citizenship application. Before filing, it’s worth discussing the specifics of the situation with an attorney to assess the application’s chances.

Interview Slots in India and Key Dates for December 2026

This week, Indian consulates didn’t release any bulk interview slots for H-1B and H4 cases — wait times are unpredictable as a result. Anyone without an urgent need to travel abroad should hold off: there have been cases of people getting stuck outside the U.S. and unable to return, specifically because of the lack of available slots.

This week, Indian consulates didn’t release any bulk interview slots for H-1B and H4 cases — wait times are unpredictable as a result.

Among the unresolved matters: the lawsuit over duration of status still has no ruling. The PERM suspension affecting the company it applies to also remains in effect. Separately, a PERM rules overhaul is expected, but the White House hasn’t announced anything on that front yet.

For three proposed rules mentioned this week, the public comment period has already closed, but final versions aren’t out yet. These include: the OPT fee and 60-day grace period, and the extension deferral fee. A bill referred to loosely in the source material (tentatively, the HR Abuser Act) is, per the source’s assessment, unlikely to pass — it’s stuck at the final stage of review.

Dates worth watching in December: December 7 — the expected publication of the visa bulletin, coinciding with the close of the comment period on the OPT document package; December 9 — the deadline for filing an appellate brief. No bulk release of H-1B slots is expected this week either.

Frequently asked questions

What happens to LCAs and prevailing wage determinations already approved once the new rule takes effect?

Prevailing wage determinations already issued and LCAs already approved will not be reopened — the new rule doesn’t affect them. Only filings submitted after the rule’s effective date will fall under the new, higher levels, including extensions of already-issued approvals.

What happens if a company can’t pay the new, higher prevailing wage to an H-1B employee?

If a company can’t pay at the new, higher level, it won’t be able to sponsor that worker for H-1B — that’s the core of the rule change.

Can someone transfer to another employer if IBM ends sponsorship?

Yes — if the employee already has an approved I-140 petition with IBM, an H-1B transfer to a new sponsor is possible without losing the priority date. That’s one option, alongside an internal transfer or a role outside the U.S.

Will the USCIS good moral character memo affect most H-1B and green card applicants?

Most H-1B and green card applicants are unlikely to be affected: the standard applies based on specific circumstances rather than status — specifically, obligations signed under Forms I-864 or I-134 and any failure to meet them.

Does the risk under the good moral character memo apply if a dependent, rather than the applicant, receives the benefit?

Yes, the same logic applies: if people who depend on the applicant receive income-based benefits, that too could be weighed against the applicant when a citizenship application is reviewed.

Is it a good idea to travel abroad right now if an H-1B or H4 needs to be renewed through a consulate in India?

Unless there’s an urgent need to travel, it’s worth holding off: due to the lack of bulk interview slots, there have been cases of people getting stuck outside the U.S. and unable to return.