Employment Authorization for H-4 Dependent Spouses
- May 10, 2015
- Richard Newman
Starting on May 26, 2015 the US Citizenship & Immigration Services will extend eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants. The new rule will not include all spouses of all H-1B visas, but will include those spouses of H-1B visa holders who are seeking employment-based green cards.
The new rule is an important part of President Obama’s executive action announced in November 2014, and is one of several initiatives to modernize and improve visa programs to grow the U.S. economy and create jobs.
Eligible individuals include H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who:
1) Are the principal beneficiaries of an approved I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or
2) Have been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act (“AC21”). The Act permits H- 1B nonimmigrants seeking permanent residence to work and remain in the U.S. beyond the 6-year limit on their H-1B status.
Eligible H-4 dependent spouses must file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with supporting evidence and the required $380 fee in order to obtain employment authorization and receive a Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
USCIS will start accepting applications on May 26, 2015. Once USCIS approves the Form I-765 and the H-4 spouse receives the EAD, they may begin working in the United States.
USCIS estimates the number of individuals eligible for employment authorization under this rule could be as high as 180,000 in the first year, and 55,000 annually in subsequent years.
End to H-1B visa lottery for Fiscal Year 2016.
On Monday May 4, 2015, USCIS announced that they had concluded their data entry or selection process for the H-1B visa lottery for the fiscal year 2016. If you filed a new H-1B petition and have not yet received a filing fee receipt from USCIS, then you were not selected in this year’s H-1B lottery.
The government’s fiscal year begins Oct 1, 2015 and ends Sept 30, 2016. New H-1B visa petitions were accepted during the first 5 business days of April, from April 1 – April 7, 2015. USCIS estimates that approximately 223,000 H-1B petitions were submitted this year. By law, only 85,000 H-1B petitions were selected. This number included 20,000 US master’s degree cases that were exempt from the lottery plus 65,000 cases which included both bachelor degree + remaining US master degree cases.
For more information or questions, please contact:
Law Office of Richard A. Newman
521 Fifth Avenue
32nd Floor
New York, NY 10175
212-986-0947