H-1B dependent spouses could face a major setback in the US if the Department of Homeland Security moves ahead with a plan to eliminate employment authorization for certain H-4 visa holders.
The proposal remains at an early stage and would need to go through the federal rulemaking process before any change could take effect. DHS has revived a regulatory proposal that would remove certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B workers from the categories eligible for employment authorization. The proposal would effectively roll back a rule introduced in 2015 that allowed qualifying H-4 spouses to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The proposal is listed in the federal regulatory agenda as “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Classes of Noncitizens Eligible for Employment Authorization. The development does not mean H-4 work permits have been cancelled. Under the current rules, certain H-4 spouses of H-1B workers can apply for employment authorization. An H-4 spouse may qualify when the H-1B spouse 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, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services .
The federal regulatory record describes the proposal as an effort to amend the existing rule by eliminating this employment-authorization category. The proposal is not entirely new. For now, however, the policy remains a proposal.
The proposed change would reverse the 2015 policy and remove certain H-4 spouses as a class of people eligible for employment authorization. During the first Trump administration, DHS pursued a similar effort to end employment authorization for certain H-4 spouses . DHS has now placed a new H-4 EAD rescission proposal, on its 2026 regulatory agenda as a “Long-Term Action.
The current move therefore revives a policy fight that has already affected H-1B families for years.
The proposal was later withdrawn, according to the Federal Register.
