April 2026 rule raises prevailing wages for staffing and IT services firms placing H-1B workers at third-party sites.
The Department of Labor's April 2026 proposed rule directly targets body-shopping outsourcing firms with a 25% prevailing wage premium. This is the most aggressive anti-outsourcing action since 2020 and reshapes which sponsors are viable for H-1B candidates.
Bottom Line: DOL proposed April 2026 rule adds 25% to prevailing wages for H-1B workers placed at third-party worksites.
Key Stat: Rule affects ~160,000 annual filings from IT services and staffing firms.
Action: Avoid at-risk sponsors — search direct employers at getwisa.com.
| Feature | Data Point | Trend vs 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Wage premium | +25% over OEWS Level | New |
| Affected firms | Staffing, IT services, consulting placing at client sites | Expanded |
| Top targets | Infosys (32,840), Tata (28,950), Cognizant (26,700) | Unchanged |
| Employer-employee test | Daily supervision documentation required | Stricter |
| Effective date | 60 days after final rule | Pending |
Our DOL data shows Level 1 filings at the top 5 outsourcing firms represent 81% of their H-1B volume. A 25% wage premium would force these firms to either pay $18,000-$24,000 more per worker annually, or restructure toward direct-hire arrangements. Wisa analysis projects 30-40% of body-shop filings will become economically unviable under this rule.
Pro Tip: If your offer is from a staffing firm that places you at a client site, ask for the Letter of Intent from the end client. Without it, the DOL employer-employee relationship test will likely fail under the new rule.
The 25% premium is stacked on top of the wage-weighted lottery (which already disadvantages Level 1), the $100K consular fee, and expanded social media vetting. The combined effect makes traditional body-shopping economically impossible for most low-wage placements. Direct-hire sponsors — Big Tech, banks, healthcare systems — gain a structural advantage in 2026.
Search thousands of verified H-1B sponsors by company, industry, and location.
Search H-1B Sponsors on Wisa →Any H-1B placement where the petitioning employer is not the end client and workers perform daily duties at a third-party worksite. The rule requires documented daily supervision by the petitioner to avoid the 25% premium.
The rule is in notice-and-comment phase as of April 2026. If finalized, it takes effect 60 days after Federal Register publication — likely August or September 2026 for initial enforcement against new LCAs.
No. The rule applies only to new LCAs filed after the effective date. Current workers remain at their existing prevailing wage until extension, transfer, or amendment triggers a new LCA under the updated rule.
Firms with strong direct-client relationships where they can document daily supervision, or those shifting to onshore-development-center models. Pure staffing placements and badge-swap consulting models face existential pressure.