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    IMMIGRATION                                                            MARCH 27, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 41

            DOL  prevailing  wage  guidance,  an   Additional complexities can  wage in the Prevailing Wage Deter-  is  required  to  project  the  require-
            entry  level  employee  on  first  brush  arise once the employer begins the  mination.               ments and salary for a role to be
            may    qualify  under  level  I  wage  or  PERM  labor  certification  process   Although there could appear  performed  many  years  in  the  fu-
            level II wage rather than Level  IV  on behalf of an employee currently  to be an inconsistency between the  ture, it is not inherently problemat-
            wage. The employer, on the other  in H-1B status. An employer might  H-1B  and  PERM  wage  levels,  the  ic for an employer’s requirements,
            hand,  may be able to justify a level  be offering an employee a level I or  role described in the PERM is a  and, therefore, the corresponding
            IV wage even if an employee has no  II wage for the present H-1B posi-  future  role.  For  beneficiaries  from  wage level, to be substantially high-
            prior or little experience based on an  tion, but could have higher require-  backlogged countries like India and  er for a PERM position than for the
            advanced degree and possessing oth-  ments for the PERM and I-140 po-  China, this position may only mate-  present H-1B role.
            er  specialized  skills,  qualifications  sition. For a PERM position that  rialize after 10 years or more when
            and  certifications/licenses  that  are  requires a bachelor’s degree and 5  they become eligible for adjustment   *Kaitlyn Box is a Partner at Cyrus D.
            essential for performing the duties of  years of experience, however, the  of status.                       Mehta & Partners PLLC.
            the position.                     DOL is likely to assign a level IV    Thus, because the employer
                                              ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
            The level IV wage can further     Cyrus D. Mehta, a graduate of Cambridge University and Columbia Law School, is the Managing Partner of Cyrus D. Mehta
            be justified based on the ac-     & Partners PLLC in New York City. Mr. Mehta is a member of AILA’s Administrative Litigation Task Force; AILA’s EB-5 Com-
            tual wage that is paid to sim-    mittee; former chair of AILA’s Ethics Committee; special counsel on immigration matters to the Departmental Disciplinary

            ilarly situated workers. Under  Committee, Appellate Division, First Department, New York; member of the ABA Commission on Immigration; board member
            DOL rule, the employer must       of Volunteers for Legal Services and board member of New York Immigration Coalition.  Mr. Mehta is the former chair of the
            pay the higher of the prevail-    Board of Trustees of the American Immigration Council and former chair of the Committee on Immigration and Nationality

            ing or actual wage. So even if    Law of the New York City Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker and writer on various immigration-related issues, including
            the prevailing wage would be      on ethics, and is also an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School, where he teaches a course entitled Immigration and
                                              Work.  Mr. Mehta received the AILA 2018 Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for advancing the practice of immigration law
            a level 1 wage but the actual     and the AILA 2011 Michael Maggio Memorial Award for his outstanding efforts in providing pro bono representation in the
            wage is at level 4 wage, the      immigration field. He has also received two AILA Presidential Commendations in 2010 and 2016.  Mr. Mehta is ranked among

            employer must pay the higher  the most highly regarded lawyers in North America by Who’s Who Legal – Corporate Immigration Law 2019 and is also ranked
            level 4 wage.                     in Chambers USA and Chambers Global 2019 in immigration law, among other rankings.

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