Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders To Get Automatic Work Authorisation Permits In US

Washington: Taking another immigration-friendly move, the United States (US) has agreed to automatically approve the right to work for spouses of H-1B visa holders.

This move is expected to benefit Indian-American women as Indian IT professionals constitute a large number of H-1B visa holders.

Reportedly, a few months ago, the American Immigration Lawyers Association had filed a lawsuit on behalf of the migrants' spouses, following which the Department of Homeland Security reached a settlement.

Now, the spouses of H-1B and L-2 visa holders don't have to apply for work authorization or need any documents such as an employment authorization document as proof to work in the country.

While reacting on the same, the Jon Wasden from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asserted that generally, the H-4 visa holders always meet the regulatory test for automatic extension of Employment Authorisation Documents (EAD). However, the agency previously stopped them from that benefit and asked them to wait for another reauthorization.

"People were suffering. They were losing their high-paying jobs for absolutely no legitimate reason causing harm to them and US businesses," he added.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigration visa which allows US companies to employ foreign workers. Notably, these information technology companies recruit thousands of people every year from countries like India and China.

The USCIS, termed it as a giant achievement and said that that parties' agreement will further result in a massive change in position for USCIS, which now recognizes that L-2 spouses enjoy automatic work authorization incident to status, meaning these spouses of executive and managers will no longer have to apply for employment authorization prior to working in the United States.

Also read:Global COVID-19 caseload tops 251.3 million

Also watch: