Taking up cudgels on behalf of spouses of H-1B visa holders, several US lawmakers from California have urged the Trump administration not to revoke the work permits granted to them by the predecessor Obama administration in 2015.
A letter, sent by 15 members of Congress to US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, argues that it is critical to keep the work permits facility in place from the standpoint of both American competitiveness and maintaining family unity of people on work visas.
Indian-Americans, accounting for the bulk of H-1B visas issued by the US, are also the principal beneficiaries of the work permit for spouses – a final call on which will be taken by the Trump administration in June. According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, over 104,000 spouses have been granted work authorisation.
“Over 10 million Californians are foreign born, and without them we would not have companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Qualcomm which have made California’s economy the sixth largest in the world,” the lawmakers say in their letter, pointing out that over 880,000 immigrants own businesses in California alone, contributing over $21 billion to the State’s economy.
“Revoking this eligibility, which was granted under the ‘H-4 rule’ in 2015, will create significant uncertainty and financial hardship for many high-skilled professionals who are vital to our economy, and we believe it is critical that this programme is kept in place,” said the lawmakers, who included Anna Eshoo, Zoe lofgren and Indian-American Ro Khanna, all Democrats from Silicon Valley.