US to provide automatic job authorisation for spouses of H-1B visa holders

In yet another immigration-friendly move, the Biden administration has agreed to provide automatic work authorisation permits to spouses of H-1B visas holders, a step that would benefit thousands of Indian-American women.

The settlement in this regard was reached by the Department of Homeland Security in a class-action lawsuit, which was filed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on behalf of immigrant spouses this summer.

“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.