The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires that the hiring of a foreign worker not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers comparably employed. To comply with the statute, the regulations require that the wages offered to a foreign worker must be at least at the prevailing wage rate for the occupational classification in the area of employment.

The prevailing wage rate is defined as the average wage paid to similarly employed workers in a specific occupation in the area of intended employment. Effective Jan. 4, 2010, employers began to obtain this wage rate by submitting a request to the National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC), or by accessing other legitimate sources of information such as the Online Wage Library at http://www.flcdatacenter.com/ available for use in some programs.

For more information, please contact the Office of International Services at 410-706-7488 or go to its website at http://www.umaryland.edu/ois/.