Shillong, March 30: The spouses of H-1B visa holders are permitted to work in the US, a US district judge has ruled.
The judge rejected a plea by Save Jobs USA, a group of IT workers who say they were forced out of their positions by H-1B workers.
The H1B visa programme was created to make it possible for highly qualified foreign workers to relocate to the US and work for US businesses. Yet, spouses of H-1B visa holders were prohibited from working until recently.
The decision will help thousands of foreign workers in the US tech industry, the majority of whom are Indians. According to a report, tech giants including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft had opposed Save Jobs USA’s lawsuit.
According to Judge Tanya Chutkan, Save Jobs USA’s main argument is that Congress has never given the Department of Homeland Security the authority to permit foreign people, such as those with H-4 visas, to work while they are in the country.
She countered that Congress has explicitly and intentionally given the American government the authority to approve employment as an acceptable condition of an H-4 spouse’s stay in the country.
