In More Bad News For H1-B Visa Holders, US To Freeze Work Permits For Their Dependent Spouses

The Trump administration's department of justice (DOJ) has filed a brief in the Washington DC court of appeals seeking a 60-day freeze in a case involving employment authorisation for H-4 visa-holders, who are primarily dependent spouses of H-1B visa-holders.

BCCL/Representational Image

Thousands of Indian spouses come in this category, and they won a hard-fought permission to work in America in February 2015, when the Obama administration issued a rule through the department of homeland security allowing eligible spouses to be employed while the H-1B visa holder awaits the receipt of his/her lawful permanent residency card (green card).

Also Read: US Reassures India There'll Be Not Much Change In H-1B Visa Policy

Soon after the rule was issued, a group called Save Jobs USA filed a lawsuit, but a district court ruled that it had no locus standi to sue and upheld the Obama administration's rule.

Taking the case to the appeals court, Save Jobs USA filed its initial brief soon after the Trump administration took charge, and found immediate support from the DOJ, which filed a document on February 1, 2017 titled "Consent motion to hold proceedings in abeyance for 60 days", asking the court to "allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues".

AP/Representational Image

The writing is pretty much on the wall, according to immigration activists, since attorney general Jeff Sessions, when he was a US senator, had called the H-4 rule a "change [in] immigration law in a way that hurts American workers".

Also Read: Donald Trump's New Proposal For Merit-Based Immigration Could Be Beneficial For Indians

Aman Kapoor, co-founder and president of Immigration Voice, which has now filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of thousands of H-4 visa-holding spouses, says:

"There is nothing for the DoJ attorneys to confer with their leadership about given the district court's clear decision stating that this case had no basis for ever being filed."

Contrary to the popular image or impression, it is not just the bored Indian spouse who won permission to work through the H-4 route. In fact, the Immigration Voice intervention cites the case of highly qualified spouses, who, in many instances, added to the US economy both in terms of revenue and jobs.

Reuters/representational image

Sudarshana Sengupta, one of the interveners, says she has been involved in biomedical research for the last 13 years in the US, initially as a J2 dependent (work authorisation) and later on an H-1B visa. In August 2015, she decided to use H4-EAD (employment authorisation document) work authorisation to continue her research after her H-1B ended.

Also Read: Indians Working On H-1B Visa Made US Firms Remain Competitive Globally, Says Indian Envoy To US

"During the course of my research career, I have worked at and published from notable academic institutions, like Harvard University, University of Chicago and Boston University, investigating molecular biological aspects of diseases such as cancer and certain cardiovascular conditions.

BCCL/representation image

I am currently involved in preclinical research developing effective strategies for cancer immunotherapy. I am on the verge of launching my own start-up developing cancer immunotherapy strategies based on my preclinical studies. However, if H4-EAD is taken away, then I will be unable to launch my start-up," she said in her intervention.

Also Read: Indian's Need Not Worry About H-1B Visa Issues, There Are Many More Opportunities In Trump's US

In another case, Anuj Dhamija, related how he had been legally working in the US since 2010 as a project manager for a reputed Fortune 100 company. Due to a decades-long wait for a green card, he made a switch to the H4 EAD programme as it was the only option for him to pursue his business ventures in the interim.