Relief for working spouses of H-1B visa holders: What does the latest Supreme Court verdict mean?

The US Supreme Court has recently declined to review a challenge to a federal rule that allows certain spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the United States. This comes as a major relief for H-1B visa holders whose spouses can now continue to work. The challenge came from a group, Save Jobs USA, representing displaced US tech workers, who contended that the spouses were taking away American jobs. But the Supreme Court refused to hear the challenge.

Save Jobs USA argued that the Department of Homeland Security overstepped its authority when it extended work authorization to H-4 visa holders, the spouses of H-1B visa holders.

Who are H-4 visa holders? Why do they get to work in America?

H-4 visa holders are dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders. Certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants can file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, if the H-1B nonimmigrant is the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or has been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (AC21).

This rule was adopted by the Obama administration in 2015 and the litigation began at that time. DHS then estimated that roughly 180,000 individuals would benefit in the first year and about 55,000 annually thereafter.

According to DHS data, more than 258,000 H-4 visa holders have received work authorization since the rule was enacted.

This was an attempt to retain foreign skills in the US if their spouses also got to work, but Save Jobs USA contended that this opened the door to a different immigration system, a different work permit visa altogether. They said spouses of H-1B visa holders were stealing jobs that should have gone to US workers.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals earlier rejected Save Jobs USA's argument and said the permit was only in limited circumstances.

Though the Donald Trump administration has taken a tough stand on H-1B and increased the H-1B application fee to $100,000 for new applications, the Supreme Court rejecting to hear this particular legal challenge put an end to a decade-long litigation. Spouses of H-1B visa holders will be allowed to work in the US if they fulfil the conditions stipulated by the authorities.