(Image source from: CNBC-TV18)

A recent survey conducted by the prominent immigration lawyer Emily Nuemann found that an overwhelming majority of - 88.6 percent - of H4 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) holders are between 20-39 years of age, the prime working age group that is the key drivers of economic growth in the United States.

The research titled “2018 National H4-EAD survey” further revealed that employment authorization of H-4 spouses has no negative impact on wages and employment rates of U.S. workers.

“The H4-EAD furthers an important public policy goal of enabling US employers to attract and retain highly skilled workers,” the noted attorney told The American Bazaar. “The survey makes it clear that the impact of the H-4 EAD to the U.S. labor market is minimal while the addition of individuals of prime working age with high levels of education and high incomes further drives the U.S. economy.”

Neumann, who has been practicing employment-based immigration since 2005, is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Society for Human Resource Management.

The survey was conducted on around 10,000 respondents across America. The questionnaire was administered to an online panel of H4 EAD recipients recruited via the website and social media.

The employment authorization to H-4 dependent spouses of H1-B non-immigrants seeking lawful permanent residence was provided to encourage this group not to abandon their efforts to acquire lawful permanent residence because their H-4 dependent spouses are unable to work.

Though the rule has been contested ever since it got implemented, in the past couple of years, with the current administration’s constant efforts to thwart the rule, thousands of recipients of this rule have found themselves at career crossroads.

The survey further establishes what attorneys and civil rights advocates have been arguing for long that H-4 EAD has not affected the American workforce negatively.

Here are some key findings of the survey:

Higher level of education

The study found that 35.3 percent of H-4 EAD holders have bachelor’s degrees and 50.9 percent hold master’s degrees. In 2016, 33.4 percent of the adult population in the United States had a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, in 2019, only 13.1 percent of U.S. adults have an advanced degree.

Age and economy

Neumann’s survey finds that 39.4 percent of H4-EAD holders are between 30 and 34 years old, 27.3 percent are between 25 and 29 years old, 19.7 percent are in the 35-39 age group and 2.2 percent are in the 20-24 age category.

In other words, 88.6 percent of all H-4 EAD holders are in the prime working age and by growing the working age population in the United States, the impact of Baby Boomers’ reaching retirement will be lessened. An increase in the population in the prime working age group is key for the economy.

H-4 EAD does not cut down American wage

The survey also found out that, amongst H-4 EAD holders, 35.7 percent earn between $50,000 and $74,999 and 32.1 percent earn between $75,000 and $99,999, while another 14.6 percent earn from $100,000 to $124,999.

In contrast to this, the median household income in the United States was $61,822.00 in 2017.

By Sowmya Sangam