Spouses of H1-B Visa Holders – Unproductive Again?
By Melissa N. Salvador
Immigration Attorney
December 15, 2017
In Trump’s effort to essentially erase the Obama presidency from the history books, he is undoing yet another Obama-era rule – work authorization for H-4 spouses.
In the spring of 2015, the Obama administration had promulgated a rule allowing certain H-4 dependent spouses to apply for work authorization. It was solely limited to those H-4 dependent spouses where the employment-based green card process had been timely initiated on behalf of the H-1B principal beneficiary by his or her employer.
It was a smart move by the Obama Administration, because it allowed these H-4 dependent spouses to be productive again. For the sake of their families, many H-4 dependent spouses left careers behind in their home country to become unproductive after moving to the United States to accompany their H-1B beneficiary spouse.
Now, H-4 dependent spouses will be reverted to the same place they were just 2 years ago – without a job – and America’s employers will be left with a gaping hole to fill in their businesses once President Trump does away with work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa holders.
