The Trump administration intends to revoke the authorization to work in the US given to almost 100,000 H-4 US visa holders currently employed in the country. Around 15,000 such applications have been approved since 2010, and a new study says that removing the right to work from H-4 US visa holders will put a considerable strain on the finances of the families concerned.
In August, a court filing from the Trump administration made known the intention to revoke work authorizations given to some of the almost 100,000 holders of the H-4 US visa currently working in the US, a designation given to the children and spouses of those granted H-1B US visas. H-1B US visas allow highly-educated overseas workers to be hired by American companies in specialty occupations that need the minimum of a bachelor’s degree or similar.
President Harry Truman established such programs back in 1952, to allow US firms to temporarily hire immigrant workers when there was a shortage of qualified Americans, but in recent years allegations have been made that the US visas are being abused by companies to bypass hiring Americans to employ cheap labor.
Between October and December 2017, denials of H-4 US visas increased by 41% compared to the same period in 2016. In December, more than 90,946 H-4 US visas were approved, the revoking of which will see over 90,000 people losing their jobs.