The United States has said, it is planning to end work permit for spouses of H1-B visa holders to work legally in the US.
In a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Francis Cissna said, the plans include proposing regulatory changes to remove H-4 dependent spouses from the class of aliens eligible for employment authorisation, reversing the 2015 final rule that granted such eligibility.
He said, such action would protect the interests of American workers. Mr Cissna said, a formal communication is expected to be made later.
The move to end the Obama-era rule could have an impact on more than 70,000 H-4 visas holders, who have work permits. H-4 is issued to the spouse of H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are high-skilled professionals from India.
They had obtained work permits under a special order issued by the previous Obama administration. More than 100,000 H-4 visa holders have been beneficiary of this rule.
Source: AIR