Spouses of H-1B visa holders in the United States are bracing for another potential setback, as the US government has introduced a new proposal aimed at removing the current work authorization available to them. If implemented, the move would strip thousands of H-4 visa holders of their ability to legally work in the country.
The H-4 EAD system, which has allowed spouses of H-1B visa holders to work under certain conditions for over a decade, is now under review by the Trump administration, which is considering scrapping the policy altogether. Indian families are expected to bear the brunt of the change, given that Indians account for the overwhelming majority of those who hold H-4 work permits. Data from H-4 applications filed between 2014 and 2017 shows that nearly 93 percent of approved applications belonged to Indian nationals, of whom 94 percent were women — meaning any rollback of the H-4 EAD system would disproportionately affect Indian women in H-1B employee families. No official date has been announced so far for when the proposal will be formally released.
According to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) proposal, eligibility to apply for work authorization would be removed for certain H-4 visa holders who are dependents of H-1B visa holders residing in the US. This would mean that a section of those currently holding H-4 visas would no longer be able to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
This is not the first time such an attempt has been made in the United States. During the first Trump administration, a similar proposal was floated in 2017 to remove work authorization for certain H-4 spouses. That proposal, however, never came into effect and was eventually withdrawn in 2021.
The renewed push comes amid a broader tightening of employment-based immigration rules under the current administration, which has also moved to eliminate the 60-day grace period for laid-off H-1B workers and impose steep new fees on visa petitions — developments that, taken together, are expected to weigh heavily on the Indian immigrant community in the US.