Relief for tech workers as court rules spouses of H-1B visa holders can work in US

A US district judge ruled that spouses of H-1B visa holders can work in the United States.

The judge dismissed a plea filed by Save Jobs USA, an organisation of IT workers who claim they lost their jobs to H-1B workers.

The H1B visa programme is designed to allow skilled foreign workers to come to the US and work for American companies. However, until recently, spouses of H-1B visa holders were not allowed to work.

The ruling will benefit thousands of foreign workers in the US tech sector, of which a significantly large number are Indians. Tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft had opposed the lawsuit by Save Jobs USA, said a report by PTI.

Judge Tanya Chutkan said Save Jobs USA’s primary contention was that Congress has never granted the Department of Homeland Security authority to allow foreign nationals, like H-4 visa-holders, to work during their stay in the US.

However, she argued that Congress has expressly and knowingly empowered the American government to authorise employment as a permissible condition of an H-4 spouse’s stay in the United States.

According to PTI, Judge Chutkan wrote in her ruling that the federal government has had a longstanding and open responsibility for authorizing employment for similar visa classes and its exercise of that authority reveals Congress’ approval of it.

She added that the Department of Homeland Security has been the one to grant work authorisation to spouses of foreign government officials and spouses of employees or officers of international organizations.

H-1B workers have applauded the ruling, saying it will bring relief to thousands of families across the country. “This decision will provide much-needed relief to families who have been struggling to make ends meet and it will help to ensure that these families can stay together and thrive,” said Ajay Bhutoria, a prominent community leader and advocate for immigrant rights.

He told PTI that allowing H-1B spouses to work is “not just a matter of economic fairness, but also a matter of family unity and stability”.

Save Jobs USA said it plans to appeal against the court ruling.