New Delhi, March 28 -- The US Department of Labor has proposed new rules with a near 11% increase in base wages for new H-1B visa applicants, a move that could raise costs for large information technology (IT) services firms which deploy significant visa-linked talent.

As per a 26 March notification, the changes would lift pay benchmarks by at least $14,500 across entry-level and experienced hires, as Washington said it looks to curb "misuse" of the visa programme and bring foreign worker wages closer to parity with those of US employees. Going by this, an employee working on an H-1B visa in the US, who earned a base wage of $133,850 last fiscal year, would now earn about $148,439.

The department has invited feedback on the new rules on...