Proposed US H-4 Visa Changes Could Impact Almost 100,000 Employees

In 2015, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a regulation allowing H-4 visa spouses of qualified H-1B professionals to work in the United States via an application for an employment authorization document (EAD). On February 20, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed the elimination of the EAD for H-4 spouses to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), marking it as  ‘Economically Significant.” If the regulation is rescinded, the ruling will impact approximately 90,000 current H-4 EAD holders.

H-4 EAD dependent spouses are still permitted to work legally until the rule is finalized and current H-4 EAD spouses are still eligible to apply for new or renewed employment authorization. The OMB has up to 90 days to review the proposed rule before publishing it for public comment, at which time it would be revised or approved. The Worldwide Employee Relocation Council® is developing a working group to prepare a comment letter as part of this process, addressing how this could negatively impact our industry. If approved, we expect implementation of the ruling in the 4^th quarter of 2019 at the earliest.  

The loss of H-4 EAD status would impact an H-1B holder’s household income by impacting his or her spouse’s individual finances. Employers are encouraged to work closely with their relocation management companies and visa and immigration providers to both to monitor the ongoing progress of this current issue and to assess the risk to existing H-1B visa holding employees as well as the impact on potential H-1B visa holders who are willing to come the United States, due to potential income loss, should the rule be approved.

SIRVA will notify clients regarding this issue as updates occur.  In the meantime, we encourage our clients to contact us to discuss their concerns and potential impacts and strategies specific to their individual companies, in light of the potential revocation of the H-4 EAD program.