Washington: The Trump administration is considering ending work authorisation for certain spouses of H-1B visa holders, a move that could affect thousands of H-4 visa holders legally working in the United States.
According to foreign media reports, the proposal would reverse a rule introduced in 2015 that allowed eligible H-4 visa holders to obtain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and legally work in the US.
If the proposal is eventually approved and implemented, certain dependent spouses of H-1B non-immigrant workers would no longer be eligible to apply for employment authorisation under their H-4 status.
Indian professionals are expected to be among the most affected because Indian nationals make up a significant share of H-4 work permit holders.
Data on H-4 Employment Authorization Document applications between 2014 and 2017 showed that 93% of approved work permits were issued to Indian nationals, while 94% of recipients were women.
The proposal has been listed on Reginfo.gov under the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and included in the US Department of Homeland Security’s long-term regulatory agenda.
However, no date has yet been set for formally issuing the proposal.
According to the DHS notice, the department intends to propose removing certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B non-immigrant workers from the categories of non-citizens eligible to apply for employment authorisation under category (c)(26).
The proposed change would reverse provisions introduced under the 2015 rule and restore the earlier policy under which H-4 dependent spouses were generally not eligible to apply for work authorisation.
Importantly, the plan remains a proposal and is not a final rule, meaning existing H-4 work permits will not immediately be cancelled.
Before the change can take effect, DHS would have to publish a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, allow the public to submit comments and objections, and subsequently issue a final rule.
Until that process is completed, H-4 spouses with valid EADs can continue working under the existing rules.
