World
H-1B Visa: Trump Administration Tells Court It Will Cancel Work Permits of H4 Visa Holders Within 3 Months
The Trump administration wants to revoke work permits to H4 visa holders allotted during the Obama administration
The Donald Trump led administration has told a federal court that its decision to cancel work permits allotted to H-4 visas holders, who are mainly spouses of H-1B visa workers, will likely come into effect in the next three months.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa used by American companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring theoretical or technical expertise. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues H-4 visas to spouse and children, under 21 years of age, of H-1B visa holders.
On Friday, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the US District Court in District of Columbia in its latest court filing that it was “making a solid and swift progress in proposing to remove from its regulations on certain H-4 spouses of H-1B non-immigrants as a class of aliens eligible for employment authorization”.
The DHS also told the court that the new rule would be submitted to the Office of Management of Budget (OMB) and White House, within the next three months. Until the new rule gets implemented, the department has urged the court to postpone its decision on a lawsuit filed by ‘Save Jobs USA’. The lawsuit in question represents a group of US workers who claim that their jobs have been hit by such a policy of the government that was brought into effect during the Obama administration.
The Trump administration is currently reviewing the H-1B visa policy as it believes that some companies misuse the visa policy to replace American workers. It also wants to revoke work permits to H4 visa holders, a majority of whom are Indian-Americans and women.
This is the third time that the DHS has informed the court about the delay in the issue of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The three status reports were filed on February 28, May 22 and August 20, while the next is due on November 19.
Notably, the plaintiff ‘Save Jobs USA’ is seeking an early decision from the court, arguing that the longer the case decision remains pending, the greater the possible harm to the US workers.
