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Prevailing wage

For most employment-based immigration petitions, the employer must promise or attest to paying a required wage.  This wage is referred to as the Prevailing Wage and is set by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Employers must pay 100 % of the prevailing wage.  In the past, employers only needed to pay 95% of the wage to qualify, but now they must pay 100 percent.

Particularly for PERM cases, it is important to document the employer’s ability to pay the prevailing wage from the time the priority date is established (the date the PERM application is filed) until lawful permanent residence is granted.

Proof of ability to pay the prevailing wage includes the employer’s tax returns, audited financial statements, or pay stubs if the beneficiary has been working for the employer.  Anything short of these documents will be highly scrutinized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and most likely denied.

Prevailing wage amounts can be found at Foreign Labor Certification Data Center Online Wage Library at: http://www.flcdatacenter.com.