Published on May 8, 2026
An entry-level software engineer in San Francisco currently earns an average of $125,000 annually. This landscape is shifting dramatically due to a new proposal from the Trump administration that seeks to raise the salary threshold for H-1B visa eligibility.
Under the proposed rules, prospective employees must earn at least $162,000 to qualify for an H-1B visa in San Francisco. Other major cities are also affected; candidates in Dallas would need to be offered around $113,000, while New York’s floor would rise to approximately $132,000. These figures represent almost a 30% increase over the existing minimums in each location.
The changes come as part of an ongoing effort to protect American jobs and raise wages in the tech sector. Industry experts are concerned that such high salary requirements could limit the number of qualified international applicants. Smaller firms, in particular, may struggle to meet these salary demands.
The potential impact could be far-reaching. Companies may need to rethink their hiring strategies and budget allocations for talent acquisition. As a result, the tech industry’s reliance on foreign workers could diminish, impacting innovation and diversity within the workforce.
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