The Trump administration is planning to scrap the existing provision, a top federal agency official has told the US lawmakers.
Spouses of H1-B visa holders may not be able to work in the US. The Trump administration is planning to scrap the existing provision, a top federal agency official has told the US lawmakers.
This move is likely to have an impact on about 64,000 Indian H-4 visa holders out of a total of 71,000 persons who got work permits during Obama's rule. H-4 is issued to the spouse of H-1B visa holders.
It may make it more difficult for US companies to retain talent. "The policy regarding high-skilled visa programs was put in place to help US companies attract and retain the highly skilled talent they need to grow and serve their customers," Nasscom, the lobby group for the Indian IT industry said, adding that the proposed change could be subject to court challenges. The spouses, who are talented individuals themselves, have the potential to do great value to the US economy, it added.
The Obama administration issued a rule in 2015 allowing work permits for spouses while H-1B visa holders seek permanent resident status that can take a decade or more.
The Trump administration is planning to cancel this provision. A formal communication is expected to be made later this summer, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Francis Cissna said in a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley."Our plans include proposing regulatory changes to remove H-4 dependent spouses 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 previous rules and guidance if appropriate, to protect the interests of United States workers in the administration of our immigration system ..."
According to a recent study by the Migration Policy Institute, the US has issued employment authorisation documents to more than 71,000 spouses of H-1B visa holders, over 90% 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 said. Of those H-4 spouses with work authorisation as of early 2017, a total of 94% were women, and the vast majority, 93%, were from India, while 4% were from China, the study said.
As with other revisions to regulations, the public will have an opportunity to provide feedback during a notice and comment period, Cissna said.
(With agency inputs)
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