In a move that would impact nearly a 100,000 spouses of Indian workers, mostly women, the Trump administration plans to revoke a policy which enables them to obtain an employment authorisation document (EAD).
In addition, the writing on the wall is clear that international entrepreneurs, will in the months to come, no longer be able to apply for parole (in general terms, it means a stay in the US) to nurture their startups for a certain period.
Incidentally, both these Obama-era policies will be revoked in a bid to attain the objectives of ‘Buy American, Hire Amercian’, an executive order signed by US President Trump last April.
Tightening of norms relating to eligibility for an H-1B visa, a popular work visa for Indian IT workers, are also on the anvil.
Light on these ongoing plans was shed in a letter recently issued by L Francis Cissna, director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to US Senator Charles Grassley, chairperson of the US Senate Judiciary Committee. Grassley was being updated on the various steps taken and proposed by the immigration agency "to ensure the integrity of the immigration system, specifically of the non-immigrant worker programmes."
Spouses of H-1B visa holders are issued an H-4 visa, which does not give them the right to work in the US. In May 2015, the Obama administration introduced a policy which permitted certain H-4 visa holders (spouses of H-1B visa holders who were on track for a green card) to apply for an employment authorisation document (EAD).
In March, fifteen US Parliamentarians, including those from the technology company-dominant hubs of the East Coast, had sent a letter to the USCIS showing their support to H-4 spouses, given the decade-plus green card backlog and the high cost of living on a single income. Without immigrants, we would not have companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Qualcomm and denying spouses the right to work would not attract the best talent to the US. Further, many spouses with work authorisations have set up their own businesses and are employment generators, they had added.