Now, Trump administration targets spouses of H-1B visa holders

An Economic Times report says that the Department of Justice has filed a brief in the Washington DC court of appeals to freeze a case for 60-days involving employment authorization for H-4 visa holders.

H-4 visa holders are mainly the dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders in the US.

This will impact thousands of Indian who are living there on H-4 visa. In 2015, the Obama administration had passed a rule to allow eligible spouses to be employed while their counterpart (holding H-1B visa) await permission for permanent residency.

A group called Save Jobs USA had filed an appeal against this but was overruled.

However, the group once again appealed after Trump administration took over and found support from DOJ.

On February 1, the Department of Justice had filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit entitled "Consent motion to hold proceedings in abeyance for 60 days".

The move is concerning as it comes after the Attorney General Jeff Sessions, when he was a US Senator, called the H-4 Rule a "change (in) immigration law in a way that hurts American workers."