Bigger India
For H4 spouses of H1B workers, New Year returns old fears
H4 visa holders are dependents of H1B workers in America. H1B visas allow foreign workers, generally with bachelor's degrees or higher, to work for three years at a time, often in the technology, healthcare and education sectors.
Work permits granted by the Obama administration to H4 dependents of H1B workers hang by a fragile thread on the other side of the New Year as a crucial case challenging employment authorisation for H4 visa holders comes up for hearing in a Washington D.C courthouse January 2, 2018 after a bruising year of anti-immigrant sentiment sweeping across America.
The case in focus is Save Jobs USA versus Department of Homeland Security. Save Jobs USA – a clutch of of IT workers who claim they lost their jobs to H1B workers – wants to overturn the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that allows certain H-4 spouses to apply for and gain work authorization. Although Save Jobs USA met with initial failure, the gale force of a Trump presidency has given the organisation fresh resolve.