Spouses of H-1B visa holders will now get work permits, benefiting Indians

Spouses of H-1B visa holders are issued H-4 visas, with a higher proportion of Indians

(PTI) Washington, Ta. Thursday, January 28, 2021

One week after President Biden took office, the Trump administration has revoked an order banning work permits for spouses of H-1B visa holders. Biden's decision will benefit thousands of Indians living in the United States.

Spouses of H-1B visa holders are issued H-4 visas by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). H-4 visa holders include a large number of Indians.

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows American companies to employ foreign workers with specialized and technical knowledge.

US-based technology companies employ a large number of IT professionals from India and China. H-4 visas are usually issued to those initiating the process of obtaining employment-based legal permanent resident status in the United States.

Spouses of Indian professionals working in the US on H-1B visas, especially women, will benefit the most from Biden's decision. After coming to power, Trump announced in 2017 that he would reverse the Obama administration's decision to grant work permits to spouses of H-1B visa holders.

As of December 2017, USCIS had issued work permits to 1,26,853 H-4 visa holders. According to a 2018 report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), 93 per cent of the approved applications were from people born in India.