In a move that could affect thousands of Indian families, the Trump Administration plans to revoke an Obama-era concession that allowed spouses of a category of H-1B visa holders to work in the US.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which presides over the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, has put out a notice that it is “proposing to remove from its regulations certain H-4 spouses of H-1B non-immigrants as a class of aliens eligible for employment authorisation”.
There was no immediate word, however, on how soon the DHS proposes to act. As for the reasons for its proposed revocation, CNN cited the department as saying that it was acting in the light of the “Buy American, Hire American” executive order, signed by President Donald Trump in April.
Since 2015, the spouses of those H-1B visa holders who are awaiting green cards — a number that runs into tens of thousands — have been eligible for work authorisation under a rule introduced by the Obama administration following more than a decade-long campaign on behalf of the spouses.
According to available figures, more than 41,000 spouses of H-1B visa holders were issued work permits in fiscal 2016. In fiscal 2017, more than 36,000 such permits had been issued in the first three quarters.
Opponents of the Obama Administration’s concession for H-1B spouses, however, challenged the rule in a federal court. A lawsuit, filed by “Save Jobs USA” and currently pending before the US Court of Appeal for the DC Circuit, asserts the DHS never had the authority to grant employment authorisation to the H-1B spouses and that the new rule hurts the job prospects of US workers.
While allowing the work authorisation, the Obama administration also took the stand that the regulation would “support the goals of attracting and retaining highly skilled foreign workers” in the United States.
“This announcement places into jeopardy thousands of hardworking, contributing individuals who have started their own businesses—and often have US citizen children—who will needlessly be forced to revert to a status of inactivity,” leon Fresco, an immigration attorney who worked for the Obama administration, told the WSJ.
Changing the rule wouldn’t prevent H-1B spouses from pursuing other avenues for work authorisation, but it could deter a number of high-skilled immigrants from staying in the US if their spouses can’t easily find work, CNN reported.
Apart from scrapping the rule allowing spouses to work, the Department of Homeland Security is also contemplating other changes to the H-1B visa programme.
These reportedly include revising the definition of what occupations are eligible for the programme “to increase focus on truly obtaining the best and brightest foreign nationals”.