US judge allows spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in country

WASHINGTON - In what appears to be a big relief for foreign workers in the US tech industry, a judge has ruled that the spouses of H-1B visa holders can now work in the country.

Tanya Chutkan, a US District Judge, dismissed a lawsuit filed by Save Jobs USA, which aimed to repeal the Obama-era regulation that permitted employment authorization cards to spouses of certain categories of H-1B visa holders.

Tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft opposed the lawsuit as well as scores of immigrants who thought it as denting a blow to their financial health. As far as statistics are concerned, almost 100,000 work authorizations have been issued by the US to spouses of H-1B workers.

In his ruling, the judge stated that Congress had empowered the US Government to authorize employment as a permissible condition for H-4 spouses' stay in the United States.

On the other hand, Save Jobs USA argued that Congress had not allowed the Department of Homeland Security the authority to permit foreign nationals, such as H-4 visa holders, to work during their stay in the United States. 

The judge did not seem convinced and stated that both the explicit and implicit congressional ratification of that practice, as well as decades of executive-branch practice, run headlong into the text of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The fact that the federal government has had longstanding and open responsibility for authorizing employment for similar visa classes further manifests Congress' approval of it exercising that authority, she said.

The judge stated in her ruling that the Department of Homeland Security and its predecessors have 'authorized employment not just for students, but also for their spouses and dependents'.

The advocates for immigrant rights have lauded the ruling stating that it would provide much needed relief to families who have been struggling financially; however, Save Jobs USA has vowed to challenge the verdict. 

What is H-1 B Visa

As explained earlier, the H-1B program allows companies and other employers in the United States to temporarily hire foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.

H-1B specialty occupations may include fields such as architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts.