President Donald Trump's administration is considering the end an Obama-era rule that extends work authorization to the spouses of certain U.S. visa holders, according to a recently published federal notice.The rule change would apply to the spouses of H-1B visa recipients who are on track for green cards to work in the U.S. The controversial H-1B program attracts foreign specialized workers to come to the United States for employment, many of them from India and China.
“I think the regulatory agenda simply makes clear what has been understood by many of us, that this administration will do everything it can to get rid of legal immigrants or discourage them to come in pursuit of its closed-border agenda,” said William Stock, an immigration lawyer from Philadelphia and past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The notice appeared in the fall edition of the semi-annual Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, a list of regulations under development by federal agencies.
Silicon Valley Worries As Government Cracks Down On Specialty Worker Visas
It indicates that the Department of Homeland Security is considering stopping granting employment authorization to certain holders of H-4 visas, granted to spouses of H-1B recipients."The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment based visa programs," R. Carter Langston, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesperson, said in an email. "USCIS is focused on ensuring the integrity of the immigration system and protecting the interests of U.S. workers, and is committed to reforming employment based immigration programs so they benefit the American people to the greatest extent possible. No decision about H4 visas is final until the rulemaking process is completed.”
“I think the regulatory agenda simply makes clear what has been understood by many of us, that this administration will do everything it can to get rid of legal immigrants or discourage them to come in pursuit of its closed-border agenda,” said William Stock, an immigration lawyer from Philadelphia and past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The notice appeared in the fall edition of the semi-annual Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, a list of regulations under development by federal agencies.
Silicon Valley Worries As Government Cracks Down On Specialty Worker Visas
It indicates that the Department of Homeland Security is considering stopping granting employment authorization to certain holders of H-4 visas, granted to spouses of H-1B recipients."The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment based visa programs," R. Carter Langston, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesperson, said in an email. "USCIS is focused on ensuring the integrity of the immigration system and protecting the interests of U.S. workers, and is committed to reforming employment based immigration programs so they benefit the American people to the greatest extent possible. No decision about H4 visas is final until the rulemaking process is completed.”