Visa Lawyer Blog
Today, on February 24, 2015, USCIS announced that effective May 26, 2015 it will extend eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants to allow them to accept employment in the U.S.
Finalizing the H-4 work authorization was an important step toward implementation of the President’s executive action initiatives announced in November 2014 for a purpose to modernize and improve our immigration system.
Not all H-4 holders will benefit from the employment authorization. Under the new regulation, eligible individuals include H-4 dependents whose H-1B spouses:
- Are the principal beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or
- Have been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. The Act permits H-1B nonimmigrants seeking lawful permanent residence to work and remain in the United States beyond the six-year limit on their H-1B status.
In other words, only those H-4 dependents whose H-1B spouses are in the process of obtaining a green card through employment will be able to benefit from work authorization.