Rule to rescind H-1B spouse’s right to work coming in May

The Trump administration’s ‘Unified Regulatory Agenda’ unveiled late night on Wednesday has two key takeaways for the Indian diaspora.

After a long delay, the US government has stated that it will publish by this month end, a rule that will rescind the right available to certain categories of H-1B spouses to work. This will impact nearly 80,000 plus Indian families, many of whom have a plan B ready – such as migrating to another country or returning home to India, as was covered by TOI in its edition of March 29.

The second major take away relates to the strengthening of the H-1B work visa program, by revising the definition of ‘speciality occupation’, so as to obtain the ‘best and brightest workers’. It also includes revising the definition of employment and employer-employee relationship to better protect US workers.