US Court To Hear Case Against Spouse Visa Authorisation Of H-1B Holders

A top US court has given the go ahead for hearing a lawsuit challenging the work authorization to H-4 visa holders after the Trump administration delayed a formal notification over the issue that can impact spouses of H-1B visa holders, mostly Indians.

The Barack Obama administration in 2015 allowed H4 visa-holders - mainly spouses of the H-1B visa-holders - to be gainfully employed in the US.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. H-4 visas are issued to the spouses of H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are high-skilled professionals from India.

The US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia, in its order on December 17 ordered that the motion to schedule briefing and oral argument be granted and this case challenging work authorization to of H-4 visa holders “be removed from abeyance.”

“Since the court has also granted our motion to intervene, we get to file a brief in opposition to the new brief that Save Jobs USA will file under the soon to be issued briefing schedule,” it argued.

At least three times, the Trump administration told the court that it has decided to revoke the Obama-era decision and a formal notification would be issued soon.

Spouses of H-1B visa holders are not allowed to work with just an H-4 visa. There is, however, an option to obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) which allows them to work with an H-4 visa.

“For that outcome, the intervention in the lawsuit is the only thing that is keeping H4-EAD programme alive and it stands between 50,000+ families from losing their right to provide for their families,” Immigration Voice said.

According to an official, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to review all employment-based visa programmes, including H-4 EADs.