The Trump administration is planning to end work permit eligibility for certain spouses of H-1B visa holders in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has added a proposal titled “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Classes of Noncitizens Eligible for Employment Authorization” to its long-term regulatory agenda.
The proposed rule would reverse a policy introduced in 2015 that allowed certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B workers to apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).
Under the current rules, eligible H-4 spouses can apply for work authorization if their H-1B spouse has reached certain stages of the employment-based permanent residency process.
If the proposed change is finalized, these H-4 spouses could lose the ability to obtain or renew their work permits.
However, no changes have taken effect yet. DHS has listed the proposal as a “Long-Term Action,” and no target date has been announced for the publication of the proposed rule.
The administration had also sought to end H-4 work authorization during President Donald Trump’s first term, but those efforts did not result in a final rule.
The latest move comes as the Trump administration pursues a series of changes affecting the H-1B visa program and employment-based immigration.
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