Across programs and over time · Wage year 2026-27
H-1B versus H-1B1 versus E-3, and how the wage rules differ
The wage rules are the part these three classifications have in common. Almost everything around the wage is different, and that’s where the confusion comes from.
H-1B1 and E-3 exist because of trade agreements: H-1B1 for nationals of Chile and Singapore, E-3 for nationals of Australia. Both are specialty-occupation classifications, and both require the employer to file a Labor Condition Application before the worker can be placed. That single fact does most of the work in this comparison.
What’s identical
The wage machinery. All three use the same form, the same attestations and the same prevailing wage sources. The employer owes the higher of the prevailing wage and its own actual wage for comparable staff, which is set out in Prevailing wage versus actual wage, and the two-part obligation. The level is determined the same way, described in How the four wage levels are determined. The area is determined the same way, described in Area of intended employment, and why the county matters more than the city. A public access file is required on the same terms, described in What a public access file has to contain.
The practical version: if you can read a wage on an H-1B filing, you can read a wage on an E-3 filing, and the same checks apply. There’s no lower floor for a treaty classification.
What differs
| H-1B | H-1B1 | E-3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Any | Chile, Singapore | Australia |
| Labor Condition Application required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Prevailing wage obligation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Subject to the H-1B numerical cap | Yes, unless exempt | No, it has its own limit | No, it has its own limit |
| USCIS petition needed for initial consular issuance | Yes | No | No |
| Immigrant intent | Dual intent recognized | Nonimmigrant intent required | Nonimmigrant intent required |
Compiled from the published rules for each classification. This table is our summary and isn’t a quotation from any single source. Verify each row before relying on it.
Two consequences matter for wage work. First, because H-1B1 and E-3 have their own numerical limits and don’t draw from the H-1B cap, none of the cap season timing pressure applies to them, and neither does anything discussed in Wage level and the H-1B lottery, including what changed and what didn’t. Second, because initial issuance can happen at a consulate without a petition, the Labor Condition Application is often the only document a reviewer will ever see connecting the job to a wage.
Validity and renewal
The three classifications are granted in different increments, and the renewal mechanics differ. This is worth checking against the current agency guidance case by case rather than working from a table, because the increments and the routes for extending inside the United States have been adjusted over the years. What doesn’t change is that a new period of employment needs a Labor Condition Application covering it, with a wage figure from the wage year in force at the time.
That last point is the one that catches people. A renewal filed after 1 July uses the new wage tables, not the ones the original filing used. The calendar is in The wage year calendar, and when the figures change, and the current vintage here’s 2026-27.
Reading a filing without knowing the class
The visa class appears on the face of the application, so there’s no guesswork. Once you’ve it, the wage check is the same in every case: occupation code, county, wage year, level, published figure, offered figure. For Software Developers in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, the published Level II figure for 2026-27 is $137,717 a year, and it’s the same figure whichever of the three classifications the filing supports.
Computed from ALC_Export.csv in OFLC_Wages_2026-27.zip, wage year 2026-27.
Read this firstThis is a computed reading of published federal data and published federal guidance, not legal advice. Only the Department of Labor issues prevailing wage determinations, and only the Department of Labor decides whether an obligation has been met. Where a rule below is our reading rather than a verbatim quotation, the text says so.
More in across programs and over time
- Multiple worksite locations on one filing. Per-site obligations, posting at each place, and the short-term placement allowance.
- PERM prevailing wage, and how it differs from H-1B. The mandatory determination, the 100 per cent rule, and the timing difference that surprises people.
- Amended petitions and material change. What counts as material, the geographic rule, and what happens to the wage when the job moves.
- Wage level and the H-1B lottery, including what changed and what didn’t. What’s settled about the cap and the wage obligation, and the selection question we won’t answer.
All 24 guides are indexed at Guides. Wage figures throughout are read from ALC_Export.csv, wage year 2026-27.