A new bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to grant an automatic right to H-4 visa holders to work in the US.
Two American Congressmen introduced the legislation on Thursday, saying it aims to address the country’s labour shortage, affecting American businesses and helping immigrant families thrive together.
The dependent spouses and children who accompany H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the US are being granted H-4 visas. Many of these H-4 visa holders are highly skilled people who previously had careers of their own or worked to support their families.
Introduced by Congresswomen Carolyn Bourdeaux and Maria Elvira Salazar, the H-4 Work Authorisation Act seeks to change the current law and grant the spouses of H-1B visa holding immigrants an automatic right to work after receiving their H-4 visa.
This would remove the requirement for visa holders to apply for Form I-765, an Employment Authorisation Document (EAD).
“Right now, the spouses of highly-skilled immigrants have to fight through years of bureaucratic red tape before they are allowed to work in the US,” said Bourdeaux.
“This bill removes these needless barriers to ensure families can contribute and prosper together. If we are going to continue to be competitive and attract the greatest minds and talent around the world, we must ensure that the family members of high-value immigrants are able to build a life and career in the US, just like everyone else,” she said.
Currently, the H-4 visa holders must apply for work authorisation and wait for it to be processed before working, even though they are already in the US and their spouse is working here.
