Republican bill would raise H-1B salary exemption threshold from $60,000 to nearly $140,000
Rep. Glenn Grothman and Sen. Jon Husted have introduced bills that would raise the salary level at which workers at H-1B-dependent employers are exempt from American-worker hiring protections. The threshold would move from a fixed $60,000 to twice the national average wage index.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 2Republican Representative Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin has introduced the Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act, and Republican Senator Jon Husted of Ohio has introduced a companion bill in the Senate. NewsweekN “Republican Senator Jon Husted of Ohio has also introduced a companion bill in the Senate.” Read at Newsweek ↗ The Times of IndiaN “Senator Jon Husted (R-OH) has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 2Under current law, H-1B-dependent employers, whose workforces include a significant share of H-1B workers, must take extra steps to protect American workers, but workers who earn at least $60,000 a year or hold a master's degree or higher are exempt. NewsweekN “Certain H-1B employees, however, are exempt from those requirements if they earn at least $60,000 a year or hold a master's degree or higher.” Read at Newsweek ↗ The Times of IndiaN “employers are exempt if they pay the H-1B worker at least $60,000 per year, or if the worker holds a master's degree or higher.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 2The bill would replace the fixed $60,000 figure, in place since 1998, with a threshold equal to twice the Social Security Administration's National Average Wage Index, which Grothman's office said would put it at nearly $140,000. NewsweekN “Grothman's bill would replace the fixed amount with a threshold set at twice the Social Security Administration's National Average Wage Index.” Read at Newsweek ↗ The Times of IndiaN “would replace the fixed $60,000 threshold with a dynamic standard equal to two times the national average wage index” Read at The Times of India ↗
Centre · 2Both outlets stress that the bill would not require every H-1B worker to be paid $140,000; it would only raise the salary at which a worker qualifies for the exemption. NewsweekN “The legislation would not require all H-1B workers to earn $140,000.” Read at Newsweek ↗ The Times of IndiaN “it won't make every H-1B earn $140,000 per year.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 2Because it is indexed to average wages, the threshold could rise or fall as wages change, Newsweek reported; the Times of India said it would keep pace with wage growth. NewsweekN “it could rise or fall as average wages change.” Read at Newsweek ↗ The Times of IndiaN “This would ensure the threshold keeps pace with wage growth going forward” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 1The Times of India, citing the Republican sponsors, said the 1998 threshold was meant to be twice the national average wage index at the time and was never adjusted for inflation; the index is now nearly $70,000. The Times of IndiaN “was intended to be twice the Social Security Administration's (SSA) National Average Wage Index at the time. It has never been adjusted for inflation.” Read at The Times of India ↗
Centre · 2Grothman said employers should not be able to use a decades-old threshold to bypass protections for qualified Americans, and said "American workers should come first in their own country." Husted called the current threshold a loophole. NewsweekN “"American workers should come first in their own country," the congressman said in a news release on Tuesday.” Read at Newsweek ↗ The Times of IndiaN “That's not modernization, that's a loophole.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 2The House bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, an early step; it would still need to pass both chambers and be signed into law. NewsweekN “The House bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, an early step in the legislative process.” Read at Newsweek ↗ The Times of IndiaN “The bill is just legislation and far from being approved.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 1Newsweek placed the bill among several Republican H-1B proposals, including Rep. Eli Crane's End H-1B Visa Abuse Act (a three-year pause and $200,000 salary requirement), Rep. Beth Van Duyne's H-1B Visa Fraud Crackdown Act and Rep. Chip Roy's American White-Collar Worker Jobs Act. NewsweekN “Representative Eli Crane of Arizona has introduced the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act, which would pause new visas for three years, reduce the annual cap and impose a $200,000 salary requirement.” Read at Newsweek ↗
Centre · 2It also noted the program has divided Trump's coalition and listed administration actions, including a proposed $103,265 fee on some petitions and restrictions on Microsoft and Adobe in the PERM green-card process, which Microsoft President Brad Smith criticised. The Times of India linked the bill to Vice President JD Vance saying he would like the program abolished. NewsweekN “a proposed $103,265 fee on some H-1B petitions”“calling its reasoning "off base"” Read at Newsweek ↗ The Times of IndiaN “Vice President JD Vance announced that he would like the H-1B visa program to be abolished” Read at The Times of India ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre2 outlets
- Framing
- Both centre outlets report the bill largely through sponsors' statements. Newsweek places it in a wider Republican and administration push on H-1B; the Times of India leads with Grothman's quote and ties it to Vance's remarks.
- Emphasis
- Newsweek: other bills, administration actions and the industry split. Times of India: the inflation rationale and that not every H-1B worker would earn $140,000.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither quotes critics of the bill or technology-industry reaction to it. Newsweek gives no explicit rationale for the index; the Times of India does not mention other bills.
- Charged language
- “loophole”“cheap foreign labor”
- For example
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“The H-1B program has divided Trump's political coalition” — Newsweek
“American workers should come first in their own country” — The Times of India
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Grothman introduced the Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act, with a Husted companion bill in the Senate.
- The current exemption threshold is $60,000, set in 1998, or a master's degree.
- The bill would not require all H-1B workers to earn $140,000; it raises the exemption threshold.
- The bill is early in the legislative process.
H-1B visa program topic
The H-1B program is the subject: sponsors say its dependent-employer exemption is outdated, while Newsweek notes tech-industry supporters argue it helps recruit highly skilled workers.
“supporters in the technology industry argue that the visa helps companies recruit highly skilled workers” — Newsweek
“close an outdated loophole that allows H-1B dependent employers to bypass certain American worker protections” — The Times of India
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre2 articles
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H-1B Visa Salary Threshold Could Hit $140,000 Under New Bill
Neutral Explanatory report with context on competing Republican bills and administration actions.
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Mixed Leads with sponsors' quotes and Vance's remarks, then clarifies the bill's limited effect.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 16 Oct 10:58 First NewsweekN H-1B Visa Salary Threshold Could Hit $140,000 Under New Bill
- 16 Oct 18:42 +7h 43m The Times of IndiaN 'American workers should come first in their own country': Republicans bring new bill to make H-1B visa salary threshold $140,000
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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