H-4 Work Permit Threat: Indian Techie Spouses Urged to File Renewals Early

Immigration attorney Bhumireddy Sai Srinivas Reddy, speaking with Deccan Chronicle, said H-4 EAD holders should not wait for the outcome of the proposed rule before taking action, particularly as employment authorisation renewals were already facing lengthy processing times.

“The USCIS approved roughly 2,28,000 initial and renewal H-4 EADs between 2023 and 2025. Research based on census data indicates that nearly 90 per cent of H-4 spouses hold a bachelor's degree, and over half hold a graduate degree. The most affected families are Indians, waiting in the employment-based green card backlog”, he said.

The proposed change has not yet reached the stage of a formal rule. DHS would first have to publish the proposal, invite public comments and then issue a final rule before the policy could take effect.

He said “Over the past 10 years, H-4 spouses have bought homes, started businesses, taken loans, and had children on the strength of their work permits, and employers have hired and trained them. A 2019 survey found nearly seven in eight H-4 EAD families had made at least one major life decision based on the permit.”

The issue is particularly significant for Indian families, many of whom have spent years waiting for green cards. H-4 spouses have also built careers, taken up professional jobs and made major financial decisions based on the ability to work.

If DHS finalises the proposal, a legal challenge is widely expected. Courts could examine whether the department has adequately explained its decision to reverse a policy that has been in place since 2015 and whether it has properly considered the reliance of families and employers on H-4 work authorisation.

Srinivas Reddy said that the most likely sequence was that after the proposed rule was published, the public comment period ended and the final rule issued, it would be challenged in court with a request to pause enforcement. He said that each stage would take months, and the reasoning provided by DHS in the proposed rule and the comments submitted in response to the proposal will form the record a court reviews.

“H-4 EAD holders should plan on the assumption that court relief, if it comes, may not arrive before an EAD expires. They should renew their EADs early, given processing times are now exceeding a year with no automatic extension, submit comments once the rule is published and explore independent options such as a spouse's own H-1B or an EB-1 or E-2 petition,” he said.