Bigger India
Indo-American families face uncertainties as Trump admin plans to rollback H4 spouse visa
In 2016, Indians accounted for 1,26,692 or 77 per cent of H1B visas in the US. So the most affected in this possible change in law would also be Indians.
Things couldn’t have gotten worse for spouses of H1-B visa holders — the creme de la creme of Indian immigrants like engineers, doctors, financial professionals and scientists — in the US.
On December 15, just before the holiday season kicked in, the Department of Homeland Security sparked a wave of anxiety among Indian-Americans when it announced that a new law to end work authorisation for dependent spouses, who are on H4 visas, was on the cards. If it goes through, thousands of spouses — many of whom are highly skilled women as well as men from India — could lose their jobs. Those who have received offers now face the bitter possibility of their getting withdrawn even before they could start.