Wishesh magazine january 2018 Wishesh magazine january 2018 | Page 75

the court titled ‘Consent
motion to hold proceedings
in abeyance for 60 days’ leadership personnel
adequate time to consider the
issues”.
Note that the DoJ move
is limited to the EAD or
employment authorization
given to certain H4 visa
holders depending upon the
status of the H1B principal
and this latest move is not
about the visa itself. H1B workers’ dependant
spouses on the H4 visa
( under certain conditions,
explained below) were
allowed to find paid work in
the fag end of the Obama
rule.
While this storm brews,
the question is what
happens, say, if the Trump
government eventually
decides to cancel the H4
work authorization. Any
immediate effect is unlikely
because any change will
require a formal rule-making
process, which would take a
few months at least.
The new US Attorney general
Jeff Sessions has said
emphatically that the H4 rule
( to allow work authorization)
“hurts American workers.”
Considering that Trump’s
spate of executive orders that
has created chaos worldwide
is anti-Obama at its core, the
H4 backlash is no surprise at
all.
By clamping down on
premium processing of H1B
visas and now upping the
difficulty level for H4 visas,
the Trump government is
showing that it does not
take executive orders to
spread panic and confusion
among immigrant labour
force. Starting April 3, 2017,
the USCIS will temporarily
suspend premium
processing for all H1B
petitions. This suspension
may last up to six months.
Premium Processing is
basically a fast track option
that gets your H1B visa or
extension the USCIS nod
swiftly if you pony up the
extra cash.
On paper some options do
remain in case the H4 EAD
is cancelled, lawyers say.
For those who may have
been counted against the
H1B cap earlier and not
yet used the full 6 years
H1B time frame or have
an approved 1-140 labor
certification could possibly
revert to H1B status.
But if H4 is the only option
for an H1B spouse who
may not make the cut in
any other category of visa,
then an H4 EAD revocation
means it’s back to the pre-
Obama days
The Trump administration
wants to “allow incoming
JANUARY 2018 | WWW.WISHESH.COM