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A proposed US immigration policy change could have an outsized impact on families of H-1B workers, particularly those whose spouses depend on H-4 employment authorisation to work in the country.

The proposal has been listed in the federal regulatory agenda as “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Classes of Noncitizens Eligible for Employment Authorization.” (Representational File Photo)The Department of Homeland Security has revived a regulatory proposal that would remove certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B workers from the categories eligible for employment authorisation.

If implemented, the move would effectively roll back a policy introduced in 2015 that allowed qualifying H-4 spouses to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), HT reported earlier.

The proposal has been listed in the federal regulatory agenda as “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Classes of Noncitizens Eligible for Employment Authorization.”

However, it is still at an early stage and does not mean that H-4 work permits have been cancelled. Any change would have to go through the federal rulemaking process before it could take effect.

Under current rules, certain spouses of H-1B workers can apply for employment authorisation through an H-4 EAD. A spouse may qualify if the H-1B worker is the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, or has received certain H-1B extensions beyond the normal six-year limit under the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting applications under the rule on May 26, 2015. For those who qualify, the EAD allows them to work in the US without being tied to a specific employer.

The potential impact on Indian families is significant because Indian nationals have accounted for the overwhelming majority of H-4 EAD approvals in the years after the programme was introduced.

Data on H-4 Employment Authorisation Document applications from 2014 to 2017 showed that 93 per cent of approvals went to Indian nationals, while 94 per cent of those approvals were for women, NDTV reported.

Indians are also the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B system, accounting for more than 70% of H-1B workers in fiscal year 2025, making any changes to the programme particularly consequential for Indian families in the US.

The proposed change would reverse the 2015 policy and remove certain H-4 spouses as a class of people eligible for employment authorisation. The federal regulatory record describes it as an effort to amend the existing rule by eliminating this employment-authorisation category.

DHS has now placed a new H-4 EAD rescission proposal on its 2026 regulatory agenda as a “Long-Term Action”, reviving a policy battle that has affected H-1B families for years.

No. The latest development does not immediately end employment authorisation for H-4 spouses who currently hold valid EADs.

A regulatory agenda entry is not a final rule. DHS would first have to publish a formal proposed rule, allow the public to submit comments and then consider those comments before issuing a final regulation.