US: Revoking of spouse work permits soon
WASHINGTON: A US agency with overarching jurisdiction over immigration has told a court that its proposal to rescind a rule granting work authorisation to spouses of certain H-1B visa holders, mostly those from India, is in the final stages of clearance.
More than 105,000 work authorisations — H-4 EAD (employment authorization document) — have been issued under this rule, introduced by the Obama administration in 2015, according to US government data.
It is granted to dependent spouses only of H-1B visa holders cleared for Green Cards (permanent residency). Its major beneficiaries have been Indians, who have the longest waiting period
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCED LAST YEAR THAT IT INTENDS TO RESCIND THE RULE AND WILL DO SO FORMALLY AROUND THIS TIME IN 2018
for Green Cards because of a mounting backlog caused by a country-cap on the number of people from any one country granted permanent residency.
The Trump administration announced last year that it intends to rescind the rule and will do so formally around this time in 2018. “The proposed rule is currently in final DHS clearance. Once it is cleared through DHS, it will be sent to the Office of Management and Budget for review under Executive Order 12,866, Regulatory and Planning Review,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a document filed in a DC court on Tuesday.
DHS said its intent to proceed with publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking “concerning the H-4 visa rule at issue in this case remains unchanged,” it added. In short, there are no changes in its plan to to rescind the programme.
The Obama-era regulation was challenged in a court in 2016 by Save Jobs US, an organization comprising of and representing information technology (IT) workers displaced by H-1B workers, in 2016. It lost. But its appeal has fared better, finding support from the justice department of the Trump administration, which has taken a hardline on immigration and on employment-based immigration, saying it wants to protect American jobs for Americans.
Supporters of the H-4 EAD rule have argued that it helps the American economy. It has “made our economy stronger, while providing relief and economic support to thousands of spouses— mostly women—who have resided in the United States for years,” 130 US lawmakers wrote in a letter to DHS secretary Kristjen Nielsen earlier this month.
Ordering the new rule, President Barack Obama said in 2015, “I’ll make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy, as so many business leaders have proposed.”