The Trump administration is looking at repealing a rule that has allowed the spouses of legal immigrants to work in the US.
In a recent enouncement, the Department of Homeland Security stated that it is reviewing the rule introduced by President Barack Obama that allowed spouses of certain H-1B visa holders to work in the country, citing Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” executive order.
H1-B visas are provided to foreign workers having graduate-level education and above who come to work in highly skilled occupations like finance or engineering.
Rule Enacted To Help Retain Workers
Under the 2015 rule, spouses of H-1B visa holders who are applying for Green Card status can work in the US under a special category of H-4 visas .
The Obama administration had said at that time that the rule would enabling US businesses to retain their highly skilled immigrant workers and will provide a better quality of life for the workers and their families.
According to United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) estimates in 2015, around 179,600 people were eligible for the H-4 visa under the rule in that particular year with the number becoming 55,000 the next year.
The Trump administration is however considering revoking this rule in 2018 as a part of its overall push against legal and illegal immigration.
The 2015 rule has been a target of a law suit by Save Jobs USA, an IT workers group that claims that they have lost their jobs due to H-1B visa holders. The law suits alleges that H-4 visas holders have taken away even more jobs from American workers.
Indian Immigrants Will be Affected The Most
In case the law is revoked then, it is like to affect Indian immigrants to a great extent as they account for almost 80% of all H-4 visas issued in 2015.
The move will also affect women since they constitute 90 % of all H-4 visa holders. One such woman who would be affected by the law stated that she had felt “worthless in her new country” before the 2015 rule was passed.
Move Against Immigrants Part of “Put America First” Policy
The Trump administration is directly targeting H-1B via holders as well
The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice is said to be scrutinizing H-1B applicants more closely. President Trump has already passed an executive order that asks federal agencies to suggest reforms such that the visas are allotted to only “the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries”.
While announcing his order, President Trump had declared that the order sent “a powerful signal to the world” that the US was going to “defend our workers, protect our jobs, and finally put America first.”
