The U.S. is likely to come up with a policy that would permit the husbands or wives of H-1B visa holders to work in the U.S. H-1B visas are popular among U.S. businesses seeking to hire highly skilled foreign workers. U.S. employers who show that they are unable to find skilled workers in the U.S. can bring workers from foreign countries through this program.
These H-1B workers can bring their eligible dependents along with them to the U.S. The husband or wife and minor children of H-1B workers can get H-4 non-immigrant visas and travel to the U.S. According to the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is soon likely to publish rules that would permit the H-4 visa holders to work in the U.S. The new rules that the agency is likely to publish would also attract highly skilled foreign workers and entrepreneurs.
However, these rules may not permit all the H-4 spouses to work in the country. Only the H-4 visa holders from the science and tech categories may be granted authorization to legally work in the U.S. Though this news is encouraging, until the proposed rule is put into effect, H-4 visa holders will not be allowed to work in the U.S.
The White House also stated that there are several similar proposed rules that would make the U.S. more attractive to entrepreneurs and highly skilled workers from foreign countries. These rules would enable more immigrants to contribute to the U.S. economy by starting up businesses and creating jobs in the country.
The White House made this announcement on the day U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reached the H-1B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2015. This visa category grants the highly skilled foreign workers an opportunity to come to the U.S. and work here. This program has benefited highly skilled professionals from India and China in greater numbers. Currently, 65,000 H-1B visas are being issued under the general category and 20,000 visas under the U.S. advanced degree category.
