H-1B spouses’ work ban rule coming within three months

Federal authorities planning to ban the spouses of H1B visa holders from working in the U.S. will submit the new rule within three months, the Department of Justice said in a court filing.

The Department of Homeland Security has made “solid and swift progress” developing the rule targeting people working on the H-4 visa, which is awarded to spouses of people on the controversial H-1B visa, the Justice Department said.

The Department of Homeland Security will submit the rule to the Office of Management and Budget, according to the filing Saturday in a lawsuit by Save Jobs USA against Homeland Security, which claims H-4 and H-1B visa holders unfairly compete against Americans for jobs.

Under certain circumstances, government agencies can finalize rules without a public comment period. But U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director L. Francis Cissna said in a Sept. 6 letter to the Internet Association — which represents major tech firms, including many such as Facebook and Google that rely on H-1B visas for hiring foreign workers — that “the public will be given an opportunity to provide feedback during a notice and comment period on any revisions to regulations that DHS determines are appropriate, including revisions relating to the H-4 Rule."

Holders of the H-4 visa have been caught up in the tumultuous debate over the H-1B visa, which is intended for jobs requiring specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or higher. Silicon Valley's tech giants rely heavily on the H-1B and have pushed to expand the annual 85,000 cap on new visas.