Spouses of US immigrants on H-1B visas could lose their right to work

It has been reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Trump administration was preparing to rescind a regulation that lets certain H‑4 spouses—dependents of H‑1B specialty-occupation visa holders—work in the United States. The Guardian first reported the potential reversal, which, if completed through formal rulemaking, could strip work authorization from tens of thousands of immigrant spouses who currently rely on Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to hold jobs, maintain careers, and support their families.

What is the H‑4 EAD?

Since 2015, a DHS regulation has allowed some H‑4 spouses to apply for an EAD if the H‑1B principal is far enough along the green card process—typically with an approved I‑140 immigrant petition or extended H‑1B status beyond six years under AC21 (the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act). USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) has approved well over 100,000 of these work permits, a policy originally designed to alleviate hardship caused by long employment‑based green card backlogs. Put simply: the H‑4 EAD lets many spouses work lawfully while the family waits, often for years, in the queue.

Who would be affected—and how?

If DHS rescinds the rule, H‑4 spouses with (c)(26) category EADs would lose eligibility at renewal and could face terminations of employment once current cards expire. The impact would fall heaviest on families from countries with the longest employment‑based backlogs—particularly India and China—where wait times for permanent residence can stretch a decade or more. Households would lose a second income. Careers would stall. Employers would lose trained staff in fields from tech to healthcare. In human terms, the proposal targets a population that did everything by the book, only to see the rules change midstream.

What happens next—and what does this mean right now?

Rolling back the H‑4 EAD requires notice‑and‑comment rulemaking; it cannot be undone by memo alone. That process typically takes months and is subject to litigation, as seen in the long‑running Save Jobs USA case challenging DHS’s authority. After the 2017 reports, the rule was proposed for rescission but never finalized; subsequent court decisions have upheld DHS’s authority to grant H‑4 spousal work authorization, and the H‑4 EAD remains in place today. For families in the system now, nothing changes unless and until a new final rule is issued and takes effect. Eligible spouses should continue to apply and renew on time, monitor USCIS processing times, and watch for automatic‑extension policies tied to timely EAD renewals and valid H‑4 status. The bottom line: the threat of rollback has receded but not vanished, and anyone relying on an H‑4 EAD should keep documentation current and follow DHS and USCIS updates closely.