Trump administration to end permits for H-1B visa holders’ kin in three months

Washington, Sept 22: The Donald Trump administration in the United States has informed a federal court that its decision to revoke work permits to H-4 visa holders, a significant number of whom are Indian-Americans, is expected to be over within the next 90 days. The H-4 visas are issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to the immediate family members of the H-1B visa-holders, who are mostly from the Indian IT community.

The move is likely to hit the Indian women as they are a major beneficiary of the Barack Obama-era rule.

On Friday, September 21, The USA's Department of Homeland Security told the US District Court in District of Columbia that it was "making a solid and swift progress in proposing to remove from its regulations on certain H-4 spouses of H-1B non-immigrants as a class of aliens eligible for employment authorisation", PTI reported. The department also said that the new rule would be submitted to the Office of Management of Budget, White House, within a span of three months.

Till that time arrives, the department requested the court to keep in abeyance the decision it took on a lawsuit filed by 'Save Jobs USA', which represents a group of American workers who believe that their jobs have been hit by a government policy which was promulgated during the days of Obama.

The Trump administration is reviewing the H-1B visa policy which it considers is being misused by companies to replace the local workers. It has also announced publicly and also in the court filing that it aims to revoke the work permits to H4 visa holders - a major number of who are Indian-Americans and women.