Two US legislators have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would grant H-4 visa holders an automatic right to work in the United States. This would benefit the spouses of thousands of foreigners, including Indians, and address the labor shortage plaguing American businesses.
H-4 visas are issued to spouses and children of H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders who accompany them to the United States. Many H-4 visa holders are highly skilled individuals who have previously pursued their own professions or supported their families.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US employers to hire foreign nationals for specialty occupations requiring theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies rely on it to hire tens of thousands of employees from India and China each year.
H-2A visas are issued to temporary agricultural workers, H-2B visas to transient non-agricultural workers, and H-3 visas to nonimmigrant trainees or exchange visitors with special education needs.
The H-4 Work Authorisation Act, introduced by Congresswomen Carolyn Bourdeaux and Maria Elvira Salazar on Thursday, seeks to amend the current law and automatically grant spouses of H-1B visa holders the right to work after receiving their H-4 visa.
This would eliminate the need for visa holders to register for Form I-765, an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), according to their statement.
The two legislators stated that the proposed legislation aims to address the labor shortage impacting American businesses and assist immigrant families in thriving.
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Even though they are already in the United States and their spouse is employed here, H-4 visa holders must currently register for work authorization and wait for it to be processed before they can work.
Due to backlogs at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), approval of work authorization applications can take between six and eight months, with some applications taking over a year.
The bill, which has been backed by the National Immigration Forum and the non-profit advocacy group UnidosUs, aims to address America’s labor shortage by allowing visa holders to work swiftly and support their families.
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According to a press release, it could also help reduce the congestion of work authorization applications at USCIS by granting immediate work authorization to H-4 visa holders and reducing the number of work authorizations USCIS must process.
