WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is planning to end allowing spousesof H1-B visa holders to work legally in the US, a top federal agencyofficial has told lawmakers, a move that could have a devastating impact ontens of thousands of Indians.
The move to end the Obama-era rule could have an impact on more than 70,000H-4 visas holders, who have work permits.
H-4 is issued to the spouse of H-1B visa holders, a significantly largenumber of whom are high-skilled professionals from India. They had obtainedwork permits under a special order issued by the previous Obamaadministration.
Indian-Americans were a major beneficiary of this provision. More than100,000 H-4 visa holders have been beneficiary of this rule.
A 2015 rule issued by the Obama administration allows work permits forspouses who otherwise could not be employed while H-1B visa holders seekpermanent resident status — a process that can take a decade or longer.
The Trump administration is planning to terminate this provision. A formercommunication is expected to be made later this summer, US Citizenship andImmigration Services (USCIS) Director Francis Cissna said in a letter toSenator Chuck Grassley.
“Our plans include proposing regulatory changes to remove H-4 dependentspouses from the class of aliens eligible for employment authorisation,thereby reversing the 2015 final rule that granted such eligibility,”Cissna said.
He said such action would comport with the executive order requirement to”propose new rules and issue new guidance, to supersede or revise previousrules and guidance if appropriate, to protect the interests of UnitedStates workers in the administration of our immigration system … ”
As with other revisions to regulations, the public will have an opportunityto provide feedback during a notice and comment period, Cissna said.
According to a recent study by the Migration Policy Institute, the US hasissued employment authorisation documents to more than 71,000 spouses ofH-1B visa holders, over 90 per cent of whom are Indians.
“As of June 2017, USCIS had granted 71,287 initial (versus renewal)employment authorisation documents to H-4 spouses,” the study which wasreleased last week said.
Of those H-4 spouses with work authorisation as of early 2017, a total of94 per cent were women, and the vast majority, 93 per cent, were fromIndia, while four per cent were from China, the study said. PTI LKJ AMS AKJAMS AMS