The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit confirmed a rule which allows spouses of H-1B visa holders to work.
The decision rejects a challenge by Save Jobs USA, a group representing native-born tech workers.
At the same time, it maintains the status quo for thousands of H-4 visa holders who have built careers in the Union during the Barack Obama era.
The court’s ruling cited precedents from a similar case. At the same time, it affirmed the authority of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to grant employment authorization to certain immigrants.
The court held that Save Jobs USA had failed to meaningfully distinguish this case from binding precedent. This led the court to uphold the district court’s grant of summary judgment.
Obama Lawsuit
Save Jobs USA initially filed a lawsuit challenging the rule in 2015, shortly after the Obama administration issued the regulation.
The group then argued that DHS lacked the authority to allow unrestricted employment to spouses on H-4 visas.
They also argued at the time that the rule, which adds roughly 90,000 H-4 spouses to the labor force, would take jobs away from U.S.-born tech workers.
However, the Trump administration’s plan to rescind the rule never materialized. The District of Columbia Circuit later ruled in favor of the government, upholding the rule’s legality.
Save Jobs USA’s subsequent appeal was ultimately rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing the appeal process to continue in the lower court.
The H-4 visa is granted to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of H-1B visa holders.
Under the Obama administration, certain H-4 visa holders were granted eligibility to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
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