US court seeks joint status report on H-4 visas

Washington DC: A US court has asked for a joint status report by March 4 on the prospects of work authorisation for H-4 visas, in view of the decision of the Biden administration to withdraw a Trump-era move to rescind work authorisation to certain categories of spouses of foreign professionals on H-1B visa.

Spouses of Indian professionals on H-1B visas, mostly women, are the biggest beneficiaries of the Obama-era rule that gave employment authorisation cards.

Judge Tanya S Chutkan, in the US Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit, said that the report, to be submitted by March 4, shall be accompanied by a proposed order as appropriate.

An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals. It is normally issued to those who have already started the process of seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident status.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

In 2017, the Trump administration announced that it would rescind the Obama-era rule that gave employment authorisation cards to spouses of foreign professionals on H-1B visas.

However, the Republican Party-led Trump administration was not able to complete the process in the four years of its rule.