Wishesh Magazine October 2019 Wishesh Magazine October 2019 | Page 47

Former President Barack
Obama during his tenure
issued the eligibility for
employment authorization to
H-4 dependent spouses of
H-1B visa holders in 2015 and
first proposed in 2011. Under
this rule, the spouses of H-1B
workers were permitted to
employment, where their
high demand skills would be
required so that they could
lead a life in the country and
promote the innovation and
growth of U.S. companies at
the same time.
President Donald Trump, who
signed Buy American and Hire
American Executive Order in
2017, removed the rights of
H4 visa holders and declared
them as a category of
immigrants taking advantages
of employment opportunities
that could otherwise be
beneficial for Americans.
The managing attorney at law
firm Immigration.com Rajiv S
Khanna
https://economictimes.
indiatimes.com/nri/visa-and-
immigration/reprieve-for-
spouses-of-h-1b-visa-holders/
articleshow/71176908.cms
said the delay is not the core
issue.
He said when you are
bringing in a new regulation
or deregulation, there has to
be some reasonable basis
in fact and circumstance.
He questioned how do you
justify taking away an entire
cadre of highly qualified,
highly motivated people
from the workforce when
unemployment levels are
below 4%?
According to a study by
the South Asian American
Policy & Research Institute,
the ability of United States
companies to pull in and retain
skilled workers would be
impacted if the country starts
revoking the H-4 EAD visa.
The move will have a major
impact on Indian women, as
they comprise up to 90 percent
of the 1.2 lakh H4 visas
issued since 2015. The Trump
government believes the move
would give American workers
a better chance at obtaining
jobs that the population of H-4
workers currently hold.
The Chief Executive Officer
of EB5 BRICS, Vivek Tandon,
warned that postponing the
proposed ban to next year
only offers minor relief .
He said spouses of H-1B
holders still don’t have any
clarity on EAD status. Already
employers in the United
States are likely to avoid hiring
H-4 visa holders until a final
decision is taken.
Khanna said the rhetoric
against immigrants would not
end until there is a change
in the perception that foreign
workers are taking away local
jobs.
The move will have a
massive impact on some
of the tech companies like
Google, Facebook, and
Apple, which rely heavily on
H1B immigrants. According
to these tech firms, the
move would affect them in a
negative way given the high-
tech skills required and it is
extremely challenging for them
to find people with like-skilled
U.S. individuals, reflecting the
same high-tech skills.
OCTOBER 2019 | WWW.WISHESH.NET