U.S. Path Tightens Again: H-1B Salary Exemption Threshold Proposed to Double to $140,000, While the EB-5 Dual Filing Window Is Now

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If you know any young people in the U.S. who are currently undergraduates and preparing to look for jobs, chances are you've recently heard a wave of lamentation.

The reason is a bill just placed on Congress's desk. Between late September and mid-October 2026, some lawmakers proposed raising the "salary exemption threshold" that H-1B-dependent employers enjoy when hiring foreign employees from the $60,000 that has been in place since 1998 to nearly $140,000.

For international students who treat "OPT to H-1B" as the default path to staying in the U.S., this is far more than a news item. It means that already narrow path to staying in the U.S. is being blocked by a boulder.

Who Is Hit Hardest?

Only by clarifying the logic of this bill can we understand why it causes so much anxiety among so many families.

U.S. immigration law has a category of employer called "H-1B-dependent employers"—simply put, companies with a high proportion of H-1B employees, for example, companies with more than 51 employees where H-1B workers make up more than 15%. When hiring foreign nationals, such companies are already required to fulfill a long list of obligations to prove they have prioritized hiring Americans. But the law left a back door: as long as the foreign employee's annual salary reaches $60,000, or the employee holds a master's degree or higher, these cumbersome reviews can be exempted.

The $60,000 set in 1998 was indeed a high salary at the time. But 28 years later, the U.S. average wage has long risen. The bill's sponsor said it plainly: calculated according to the Social Security Administration's national average wage index, the $60,000 of that year should today be close to $140,000. So the new bill simply links the threshold to the index for dynamic adjustment.

Who is hurt the most? U.S. undergraduate international students.

The exemption path for master's degrees and above has been retained. That is to say, master's and doctoral graduates in the U.S. can still obtain the exemption on the basis of their degree even if their salary is below $140,000. But undergraduate students in the U.S. have no such fallback. In the past, many relied on ICC staffing companies or small and medium-sized companies to "hold a low-salary position" to complete their status transition; under a $140,000 threshold, that path is basically impassable.

This Is Not "Closing the Door," but "Changing the Lock"

What needs to be viewed calmly is that this bill is still at an early stage of the legislative process and has not yet become law. There is still a long way to go before it actually takes effect.

But the signal is clear enough. In recent years, the U.S. attitude toward H-1B has been continuously tightening: stricter reviews, higher fees, and greater pressure on employers that rely on foreign labor. (After this article is published, a policy update can be inserted here: https://doc.weixin.qq.com/doc/w3_ACIAHQYoANECN4OkJUtV6SCm10DSj?scode=AJAAGgfxAAgEsSDB7iACIAHQYoANE )

For U.S. undergraduate students who are already studying or about to graduate, they will face a cruel reality: you can no longer pin your hopes for status on an offer from a small or medium-sized company willing to enter the lottery for you. Because the other party may very likely, at first glance at your resume, add that increasingly common line to the job description—"H-1B sponsorship not supported."

When One Path Narrows, Another Path Is Opening

If you feel anxious after reading this, the following information may be more valuable.

At the same time the H-1B bill was proposed, the U.S. Department of State released the October 2026 visa bulletin. Among the categories, the three reserved visa categories under the new EB-5 law remain in a "no backlog" status.

This means that for applicants already in the U.S., as long as they invest in a compliant project, they can simultaneously submit the I-526E immigrant petition and the I-485 adjustment of status application. This is what the industry calls "dual filing."

The direct benefit of dual filing is: while waiting for green card adjudication, you can simultaneously apply for a work permit and a re-entry permit. Once you receive the work permit, you do not need the H-1B lottery, are not subject to the OPT unemployment period limit, and do not need any employer to sponsor you; you can freely choose jobs, change jobs, or even start your own business.

Compare the timelines and certainty of the two paths:

H-1B path: graduation → OPT (1–3 years) → employer willing to sponsor → lottery (selection rate declining year by year) → approval after selection → during the 6 years of H-1B, dependence on the employer to process the green card → waiting for backlog. Every step is a variable, and control of every step lies in others' hands.

EB-5 dual filing path: in the U.S. → choose a compliant reserved project → simultaneously submit I-526E and I-485 → obtain work permit + re-entry permit within a few months → legally stay and work in the U.S. → wait for the green card. There is only one core variable: choosing the right project.

In particular, it is worth noting that the "no backlog" window for EB-5 reserved visas is not permanently open. As applications accumulate, a backlog may appear at any time. And on January 1, 2027, the EB-5 investment threshold will usher in its first statutory automatic adjustment, and the minimum investment amount in TEA areas may rise from the current $800,000 to $937,500. The window period never waits for anyone.

There Is Not Much Time Left for Hesitation

Returning to the H-1B bill: whether it will pass, when it will pass, and what the final version will look like are all currently unknown. But one thing is certain: the direction of U.S. immigration policy is becoming increasingly unfriendly to ordinary international students.

If you or your child is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in the U.S., or is about to graduate, and is standing at the crossroads of "whether to bet on H-1B," now may be the time to seriously evaluate EB-5 dual filing. It requires a capital investment, but what it buys back is the freedom to choose a job, the confidence not to depend on an employer, and a path of certainty that does not rely on a lucky lottery.

When it comes to status planning, the earlier the better—never delay.