A U.S. appeals court has upheld a rule that allows the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work, rejecting a legal challenge from Save Jobs USA, a group that represents U.S.-born tech workers.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit supported the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to grant work permits to certain immigrants. The court pointed to previous legal decisions in similar cases, confirming the DHS’s authority to issue work authorization for H-4 visa holders. This ruling protects the rights of thousands of H-4 visa holders, many of whom are from India, and who have built careers in the U.S. under the policy introduced during the Obama administration.
Why Was There a Challenge to the Rule?
Save Jobs USA first filed a lawsuit in 2015, right after the Obama administration introduced the rule allowing H-4 spouses to work. The group argued that DHS did not have the authority to grant unrestricted work rights to H-4 visa holders. It also claimed that the rule, which could add about 90,000 people to the workforce, would take jobs away from U.S.-born tech workers.
The Trump administration tried to reverse the rule, but the process was never completed. After Joe Biden took office, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with the government, ruling that the rule was legal. Save Jobs USA then appealed the decision, but the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case right away, allowing the appeals process to continue in the lower courts.
Industry Support for the Rule
Major tech companies like Apple and Amazon, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have filed briefs in support of the rule. They argue that allowing both spouses to work is essential for attracting and keeping skilled foreign workers in the U.S. “Removing work authorization for H-4 visa holders would hurt U.S. productivity and innovation, as skilled workers would move to other countries,” these industry leaders argued in their court filings.
This ruling has significant implications for the H-1B and H-4 visa programs, as it ensures that the spouses of high-skilled foreign workers can continue to work and contribute to the U.S. economy.
