Beginning May 26 this year, the United States will extend employment authorisation to certain dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders who are seeking employment-based lawful permanent residence.
The proposal, first announced by President Barack Obama last November as part of his executive actions on immigration reform, will in part meet a long-pending demand of H-1B spouses, a large percentage of whom are Indians.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) estimates the number of individuals eligible to apply for employment authorisation under this rule could be as high as 179,600 in the first year and 55,000 annually in subsequent years.
USCIS Director leon Rodriquez said in a statement on Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security has amended the regulations to allow the H-1B spouses, living in the US on H-4 dependent visas, to take up employment.
“Allowing the spouses of these visa holders to legally work in the United States makes perfect sense,” Rodriguez said.
, adding: “It helps US businesses keep their highly skilled workers by increasing the chances these workers will choose to stay in this country during the transition from temporary workers to permanent residents. It also provides more economic stability and better quality of life for the affected families.”
USCIS has said it will start accepting application from potentially eligible spouses with H-4 visas only from the effective date of May 26, 2015.