H4 EAD Proposal – Eligible Criteria

DHS today announced their plan to retain Highly Skilled Immigrants. In this press release, they listed the eligible criteria for EAD for H4 dependents. This rule has been in consideration since a while but it has gotten a lot of traction recently.

h4visaholder_work_authorization

 

Under existing regulations H4 dependents cannot work in the U.S . This proposed rule will amend existing regulations to allow H-4 dependent spouses of certain H-1B workers to request employment authorization.

Eligible individuals would include H-4 dependent spouses of principal H-1B workers who:

  • Are the beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or
  • Have been granted an extension of their authorized period of stay in the United States under AC21 . AC21 permits H-1B workers seeking lawful permanent residence to work and remain in the United States beyond the six-year limit.

This is a very good initiative by DHS since there are a lot of STEM graduates and highly educated H4 dependants in the United States. H1B wiki will be closely watching the developments on this rule and will update the H1B wiki readers.

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11 Comments on "H4 EAD Proposal – Eligible Criteria"

  1. Will this not affect the billing rates adversely?

  2. Raja Sekhar | May 15, 2014 at 9:27 pm | Reply

    Having approved I-140 and 6 years complete, Got 3 years extension and changed employer, Still H4 EAD eligible

  3. I have my I-140 approved and exceeded my 6 year H1B Quota. My spouse is also in her H1B first year, can she apply for EAD or will she have to convert to H4 before applying for EAD.

    • I have the same situation.
      1. Will the USCIS let the spouse file for H4 and EAD together.
      2. Does the old H1 become invalid after H4 receipt or H4 approval? In other words will there be a period where you cant work?

    • H4 ead is not the best option as it is tied to your H1. In case something happens so one of your H1 , you can fallback on H4 and stay safe

    • Donna Kochis | May 7, 2014 at 1:45 pm | Reply

      If your spouse has her own H1B, she does not need an H4 EAD. Her work authorization is her H1B. This new legislation would apply to the spouse of an H1B worker that has no other visa but wants to work.

      • I agree but having EAD will give her more options(Employer) to choose as she is contracting right now. She can start working full time without any Visa sponsorship.

  4. If I understood it right, primary applicant on H1 should have an approved I 140?
    Am I right?

  5. Read about rule makingn process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rulemaking
    and make efforts to propagate when it is opened for public comments ..
    Please make efforts as much as possilbe to participate then to just sit wait and watch

  6. When will it become a rule ?

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