US to junk startup visa, spouse work permit

There's bad news for many spouses of H-1B workers in the US as they will no longer be able to seek employment, or set up their own business, for many something as simple as setting up a creche, tutoring, conducting yoga classes or supplying desi home-cooked food to nearby offices.

A policy which enables them to obtain an employment authorisation document (EAD) will be revoked.

This move would impact nearly a lakh Indian spouses, most of them women. In addition, international entrepreneurs will, in the months to come, no longer be able to apply for parole to nurture their startups for a certain period.

Incidentally, both these policies which were introduced by the Obama administration will be revoked in a bid to attain the objectives of "Buy American, Hire Amercian", an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump last April. Tightening of norms relating to eligibility for an H-1B visa, a popular work visa for Indian technology workers, are also on the anvil.

Light on these ongoing plans was shed in a letter recently issued by L Francis Cissna, director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to US senator Charles Grassley, chairperson of the US Senate judiciary committee.

Grassley was being updated on the various steps taken and proposed by the immigration agency "to ensure the integrity of the immigration system, specifically of the non-immigrant worker programs".

Spouses of H-1B visa holders are issued an H-4 visa, which does not give them the right to work in the US.In May 2015, the Obama administration introduced a policy which permitted certain H-4 visa holders (viz. spouses of H-1B visa holders who were on track for a green card) to apply for an EAD.

In March, 15 US parliamentarians, including those from the technology company dominant hubs of the East Coast, had sent a letter to the USCIS showing their support to H-4 spouses, given the decade-plus green card backlog and the high cost of living on a single income.

"Without immigrants, we would not have companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Qualcomm and denying spouses the right to work would not attract the best talent in the US. Further, many spouses with work authorisations have set up their own business and are employment generators," they had added.