Good news for spouses of H-1B visa holders! US to give automatic work authorisation permits

The United States has agreed to provide automatic work authorisation permits to the spouses of H-1B visa holders, a decision which will benefit thousands of Indian-American women. The Americal Immigration Lawyers’ Association filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of immigrant spouses in which this settlement has been reached by the Department of Homeland Security, PTI reported.

“This (H-4 visa holders) is a group that always met the regulatory test for automatic extension of EADs (employment authorisation documents), but the agency previously prohibited them from that benefit and forced them to wait for reauthorisation. People were suffering. They were losing their high-paying jobs for absolutely no legitimate reason causing harm to them and US businesses,” Jon Wasden from the association said.

“Although this is a giant achievement, the parties’ agreement will further result in a massive change in position for the USCIS, which now recognises that L-2 spouses enjoy automatic work authorisation incident to status, meaning these spouses of executive and managers will no longer have to apply for employment authorisation prior to working in the United States,” the association said.