- The US proposes ending work permits for spouses of H-1B visa holders, reversing a decade-old rule
- Approximately 93% of H-4 EAD approvals from 2014-2017 were granted to Indian nationals, mostly women
- The proposal is part of the DHS regulatory agenda but requires public comment before any final rule
A new US government proposal could strip thousands of H-4 visa holders of their right to work legally in America, reversing a policy that has been in place for more than a decade.
The Trump administration wants to end work permits for spouses of H-1B visa holders. If it goes through, it would reverse a rule that has let eligible H-4 visa holders work legally in the US for more than ten years. Indian professionals are likely to be hit hardest, as many H-4 permit holders are Indian.
Data on H-4 Employment Authorisation Document (EAD) applications from 2014 to 2017 show that 93 per cent of approvals went to Indian nationals, and 94 per cent of those were women.
The plan, listed on Reginfo.gov under the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is titled "Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Classes of Noncitizens Eligible for Employment Authorisation." It has been added to the Department of Homeland Security's long-term regulatory agenda, though no date has been set for its release.
The DHS notice states, "DHS is proposing to remove from its regulations certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B non-immigrant workers as a class of aliens eligible to request employment authorisation under the (c)(26) category."
The DHS proposal states, "This proposal would reverse the changes made in the 2015 final rule, 'Employment Authorisation for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses,' and restore DHS's long-standing policy of not extending eligibility to request employment authorisation to H-4 dependent spouses."
However, this is only a proposal, not a final rule, and it does not end H-4 work authorisation immediately. Before it can take effect, the DHS must publish a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, allow the public to comment, and then issue a final rule. Until that happens, H-4 spouses with valid EADs can keep working under the current rules.
This is not the first attempt to scrap the H-4 EAD scheme. During Trump's first term in 2017, the DHS proposed removing employment authorisation for certain H-4 spouses, but the plan was never finalised and was withdrawn in 2021.
It is one of several moves by the administration targeting H-1B visas. The DHS has also proposed a $103,265 fee on new H-1B hires, and the White House wants to remove the 60-day window H-1B workers currently get to find a new employer after losing their job.
An H-4 visa itself is not a work visa. It is granted to the spouse or children of an H-1B holder simply to let them live in the US together. A separate work permit, known as an Employment Authorisation Document, is needed before an H-4 holder can legally take a job, and this is only available to spouses whose H-1B partner is already on the path to a green card. Without an EAD, H-4 holders cannot work legally, although they can live in the US, obtain a driving licence and open bank accounts.
The impact could fall heavily on Indian H-1B families, since Indian nationals made up about 71 per cent of approved H-1B petitions in FY2024, according to USCIS data.
