US to deny jobs to spouses soon

Washington, May 25: The Trump administration has informed a US court that its decision to rescind work authorisation to certain categories of H- 4 visa holders is in final stages — a move that could hit 70,000 Indians working in the US.

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.

According to a recent Congressional report, a staggering 93 per cent of the total H- 4 visa holders in the US having work authorisation are from India.

The spouses of the H1B visa holders were allowed to work legally in the US by the previous Obama administration, but US President Donald Trump has decided to scrap the provision.

The proposed rule is currently in final clearance, the department of homeland security ( DHS) told a federal court in a status update.

The Trump administration told the court that once the proposal is cleared through the DHS, it will be sent to the Office of Management and Budget

ACCORDING to a recent Congressional report, a staggering 93 per cent of the total

H4 visa holders in the US having work authorisation are from India. H- 4 VISAS are issued to the spouses of H- 1B visa holders, a large number of them are Indians.

for review under Executive Order for regulatory and planning review.

As previously represented to the Court, the DHS intends to proceed with publication of this new rule concerning the H- 4 visa rule, the DHS said in its court filing.

The final notification to rescind the work authorisation is expected to be issued in June.

Last week, a bipartisan group of 130 US lawmakers led by influential I n d i a n - A m e r i c a n Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal urged the Trump administration to continue granting work authorisation to certain dependent spouses of non- immigrant workers holding H1B visas.