USCIS has submitted its proposed regulation to rescind the H-4 EAD regulations that have been in place since February 25, 2015. While this is not a huge surprise, as USCIS has had this on their agenda since the new Administration has been in power, it is still somewhat of a surprise as it has taken them a long time to actually put this together and submit it.
From what we know, the rule was sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on February 20, 2019, and is currently pending review. Once OMB completes its review, a notice of proposed rulemaking will be published in the Federal Register and will be open to the public for notice and comment. The proposed regulation will not take effect until finalized by DHS, a process that typically takes several months.
Please note that the text of the proposed rule has not yet been made available to the public. We will update you as soon as we have more information.
Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.
It appears that USCIS is preparing to release a new rule by June, 2018 to remove the provision that allows certain H-4 spouses of H-1B visa holders to apply for work authorization. If you have been following this issue, you know that the new administration has been looking at revoking these rules since it came into power. It appears now that they are getting ready to act. According to the administration, allowing such people work authorization is taking away potential jobs from US Citizens. In further of this view, USCIS just released a report on the H-4 EAD process, including statistics on the number of cases, etc. According to this report, there are over 104,000 people taking advantage of this law.
Immigration Briefs 