Trump Administration Revives Proposal to End H-4 Work Permits for Some Spouses

If finalized, the rule would strip future eligibility for the H-4 Employment Authorization Document (Employment Authorisation Document (EAD)) from a subset of spouses whose H-1B-holding partners are pursuing employment-based green cards. The proposal is still in the early stage of the federal rulemaking process; Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not issued a formal proposed rule, and no immediate change affects H-4 spouses who currently hold valid work permits.

H-4 EAD Work Permit Faces Uncertainty as US Revives H-1B Spouse Proposal Newsweek

The H-4 EAD program was created in 2015 when the Obama administration authorized certain H-4 spouses to work if the principal H-1B beneficiary had an approved Form I-140 immigrant petition or had received extensions beyond the standard six-year limit under the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting applications on May 26, 2015. The rule was intended to provide a second source of household income for families facing long green-card backlogs, particularly from India and China. During Donald Trump’s first administration, DHS pursued a similar rollback, but that effort was withdrawn without eliminating the program.

H-4 EAD Work Permit Faces Uncertainty as US Revives H-1B Spouse Proposal Newsweek

USCIS estimated that the 2015 rule would make “tens of thousands” of H-4 spouses eligible for work authorization. The broader H-1B system is capped at 85,000 new visas each fiscal year—65,000 under the regular quota and 20,000 reserved for applicants with advanced U.S. degrees—while applications routinely exceed the cap. DHS has not disclosed how many current or prospective H-4 EAD holders could lose authorization under the revived proposal.

Newsweek

The agency also announced related changes such as a weighted lottery favoring higher-paid workers, a new $103,265 fee for certain petitions, and expanded biometric fees. On August 25, the State Department paused worldwide immigrant-visa processing to train consular officers on new screening aimed at identifying applicants likely to become dependent on public benefits, underscoring the administration’s broader focus on immigration oversight.

Newsweek

For many H-1B families, the H-4 EAD provides an essential source of income and allows spouses to maintain or advance their careers without being tied to a single employer. If the proposal becomes final, affected spouses would need to seek alternative immigration categories to work legally, potentially reducing household earnings and disrupting professional trajectories. Until a final rule is issued and takes effect, qualifying H-4 spouses remain eligible for employment authorization under the existing 2015 framework.

H-4 EAD Work Permit Faces Uncertainty as US Revives H-1B Spouse Proposal Newsweek