(Image source from: Politico)
The Trump administration has told a federal court that its move to revoke work permits to H-4 visa users, a significant majority of whom are Indian Americans, is expected within the next three months, a decision which will have a chief impact on Indian women as they are the major beneficiary of the Obama-era rule.
H-4 visas are issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the holders of H-1B visa, the most sought-after among Indian IT (Information Technology) professionals.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in its latest court filing Friday told the U.S. District Court in District of Columbia that it was "making a solid and swift progress in proposing to remove from its regulations on certain H-4 spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants as a class of aliens eligible for employment authorization".
The DHS said the new rule would be submitted to the Office of Management of Budget (OMB), White House, within three months.
Till then, the department urged the court to keep in abeyance its decision on a lawsuit filed by 'Save Jobs USA', representing a group of U.S. workers who claim that their jobs have been hit by such a policy of the authorities that were promulgated during the former Obama administration.
Currently, the Trump administration is reviewing the H-1B visa policy that it thinks is being ill-used by companies to supplant American workers.
The administration has said publicly and likewise in its court filing that it wants to revoke work permits to H4 visa holders.
This is for the third time that the DHS has informed the court over the hold in the issue of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
Explaining the grounds for delay, the U.S. attorney said since the filing of the most recent status report, the DHS's senior leadership reviewed the proposed rule and returned it to the USCIS this month for revisions.
"Senior leadership review and the request for revisions is standard practice within the DHS. When the necessary revisions are incorporated, the USCIS will return the proposed rule to the DHS for final clearance and submission to OMB," he said.
However, 'Save Jobs USA' has sought a timely judgment from the court, arguing that the longer the case stays in suspension, the greater the possible harm to the U.S. workers.
As of December 25, 2017, the USCIS had approved 1,26,853 applications for employment authorization for H-4 visa holders. These counts all approvals since May 2015 when the rule was implemented. This number includes 90,946 initial approvals, 35,219 renewals, and 688 replacements for lost cards.
"Ninety-three percent of approved applications for H-4 employment authorization was issued to individuals born in India, and five percent were issued to individuals born in China. Individuals born in all other countries combined make up the remaining two percent of approved applications," the Congressional Research Service said in its recent report, based on information obtained from the USCIS.
By Sowmya Sangam
