A US court has sought a joint status report on the prospects of work authorisation for H4 visas, PTI reported. It came in view of the decision of President Joe Biden’s administration to withdraw the move of his predecessor to rescind work authorisation to certain categories of spouses of foreign professionals on H-1B visa.

Also read: H-1B visa registration to begin on March 9, say US federal agency

Judge Tanya S Chutkan has asked for the joint status report by March 5.

The court sought the report to advise court on “1) whether the current dispute has been mooted or the parties anticipate that it will be mooted; 2) whether the parties wish to stay this action for any reason, including the parties’ negotiations over resolving this dispute; or 3) whether the parties agree that this litigation should continue as anticipated pursuant to the federal rules, local rules or a scheduling order,” the judge said.

An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The H-4 visa is normally issued to those who have already started the process of seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident status in the US.

It is highly sought by those born in India. According to a 2018 report by Congressional Research Service (CRS) 93% of approved applications for H-4 employment authorisation were issued to individuals born in India, and 5% were issued to individuals born in China.

The US Department of Homeland Security in 2015 allowed certain H4 dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders to legally seek employment in the US. This presented an important step towards rectifying gender disparities in our immigration system, as around 95% of H4 visa holders who have secured work authorisations are women, the court noted. 

The Department of Homeland Security’s decision was challenged in a federal court in 2015.

Also read: Good news for H-1B visa holders, Biden revokes rule ending work permit for spouses

During its four years, the Trump Administration had told the court that it plans to rescind the order that gives work authorisation to spouses of H-1B visas. However, it did not rescind the rule.