Home » US Immigration - Visas » H4 Visa » Official H4 Visa EAD Proposed Rule Published – Comments Period May 12 to July 11th 2014.

Official H4 Visa EAD Proposed Rule Published – Comments Period May 12 to July 11th 2014.

As you know, DHS announced a proposed rule for H4 Visa holders to get EAD on May 6th, 2014 and they mentioned that full details would be published soon on Federal register. As per their press release full details of the H4 Visa Employment Authorization Document ( EAD) proposed rule was published in the federal register.  This article will focus on some details on the timelines , official links to the actual rules  and active groups that are supporting the same so that you can help the cause.

Important Dates –  Public Comments Period

The H4 Visa EAD rule, officially called as “79 FR 26886 – EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN H-4 DEPENDENT SPOUSES” is open for public comments as part of the rule making process  for a period of 60 days.

  • Comments period starts from May 12th, 2014
  • Comments period ends  on  July 11th, 2014

During these 60 days, public is given the opportunity to submit comments for consideration by DHS/ USCIS for the rule making.

Official Links to the Full proposed Rule in Federal Register :

The  ‘EAD rule for H4 Visa holders’ is published in Federal Register Volume 79, Issue 91 (May 12, 2014). The full document is pretty long about 58 pages, you can review the summary to get an understanding.  It includes all the background and other information. Below are the official links in various formats.

What can you do ?  How to Support the advocacy groups ?

If there is something that you can add to the rule, this 60 days is your chance to submit comments. There are many advocacy groups out there supporting the cause. I have come across the group actively managed by Rashi Bhatnagar and their team on Facebook Page  H4 Visa Curse.  Rashi and team are collecting responses to submit them to respective representative. You can help the cause by joining the conversation on the Facebook page and doing the survey on their web page.

Do you know any other advocacy groups supporting the cause ? Feel free to add them to the comments.

What are your thoughts on the rule ?

I will review and publish a summary sometime during this week. Stay tuned.

   

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24 Comments

  1. So let me get this straight, H1b can only work at the company that sponsored their visa but the H4 spouse will be authorized to work in any other company? This doesn’t make sense and seems counterintuitive and kind of unfair to the H1b spouse!

    Reply
  2. Hi i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anyplace,
    when i read this post i thought i could also make comment due to this sensible paragraph.

    Reply
  3. This green card holder desi guy (i.e. Rahul) is jealous of those H4 visa holders (Lucky desi people) who gonna get opportunity to work through EAD. Ignore Rahul and move forward…

    Reply
  4. Hi,

    Please change the title of this post to July 11th 2014.

    It says “Comments Period May 12 to June 11th 2014”

    Reply
      • Thanks to you for sharing such valuable information to everyone.

        I have been following your H1 and H4 EAD threads from a long time.

        But, no luck in H1 lottery this time…. Hopefully, H4 EAD will shed some light into our lives…….

        Reply
  5. Allowing Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses to Apply for Employment Authorization.

    A major Public Participation is required as public comments are required for this is rule to come true.

    ALL H4 and all who support this rule submit your positive comments IMMEDIATELY.

    You may submit comments, identified by DHS Docket No. USCIS-2010-0017, by the following method:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal:
    http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketBrowser;rpp=25;po=25;dct=PS;D=USCIS-2010-0017

    Written comments must be submitted on or before July 11, 2014.

    Reply
  6. They should implement this rule with so much vagueness.

    Does this H4 EAD mean H4’s can work anywhere??!!

    This will create a huge havoc in US.

    US citizens will suffer because of this. There should be more stringent rules as to what positions H4’s can qualify for.

    If we allow all H4’s to do any job in US, many low-earning US citizens will suffer.

    USCIS came up with very lame terms. While H1 has very stringent terms, how can they overlook H4 EAD terms ?

    This is ridiculous.

    Reply
    • Man…. you forget where you come from… There are so many jobs out there and may the best talent win… Why are you so worried about US citizens…

      Anyway many people who work low end jobs work illegally anyway (on h4).. this is at least better that they pay taxes on what they earn

      Reply
    • Rahul what you fail to realize is only those H4’s whose h1 spouses are in the process of lawfully becoming citizens of the US and have their i140 cleared will be allowed to work . Implies they will be US citizens in the long run UNLIKE h1 which is a non immigrant visa.

      Reply
  7. They should extend this to Advanced Degree from USA holders who are on H-1B also. (Irrespective of their state of I-140)

    What about the spouses of Advanced Degree(USA) holders who also have Advanced Degree(USA) but are staying on H-4 due to H-1 visa lottery system?

    Reply
    • Advanced degree is a joke for most of them. That shouldn’t even be a criteria for lottery. Only QUALIFIED candidates should get the visa.

      Reply
      • The proposed rule is coming from a serious problem where deserving H4 visa people who are living in the U.S for years but are not allowed to work. Advanced Degree people, people who intend to come to the U.S on H-1B for an IT company in India and their spouses should not demand EAD just because of this proposed rule. The government is trying to find a cure for cancer, please don’t barge in and say I have a common cold, please include me in the list.

        Reply
        • The cure Government needs to find is to give H1 to the eligible people. Most of the people who come from the IT giants in India are not qualified.
          On the other hand, my point is that advanced degree shouldn’t be a criteria. What about people who have done their undergrad in States?

          Reply
          • I agree with you first and second points. H1B needs to be given only to eligible people who have appropriate education, skill and experience required to do a job that an employer cannot fill with a local/native American. I also agree with most people who come from IT giants in India not being qualified.

            I am sorry I have to say this, if a person (not from the US) does their undergrad in the U.S., they have a very tough competition with local/Americans. Most Americans understand the need for an undergraduate degree to get a high paying job. Some even end up getting a graduate level degree as well. But when a foreign student completes an undergraduate program in the U.S. they are competing with at least 70-80% of undergraduates that are either citizens or permanent residents. There is a lot more competition for jobs that require undergraduate degree than there is for jobs that require masters degree.

          • And of course I empathize with you equally of the plight of US citizens who are definitely going to lose out on the job market. Most of the persons on H4 cannot do much more than testing work if at all, but still they will eat up on the jobs of STEM and American citizens.

          • H1 to eligible people? and people coming from IT giants are not qualified? Just because you may got a masters from some third rated univ in US, doesnt warrant you to write out BS. The IT giants pick their candidates through stringent selection processes and everyone is good enough for their jobs. Even those persons who run unethical consultancies in USA are from India and they were qualified enough at their point of time.

    • @ Rahul

      Didnt you just mention that rules were very lame ? Then why are you arguing about extending this to Other advanced degree holders ?

      Are you afraid about your own job ?
      Here , let me give you a few numbers…
      There are 49000 refugees who seek Asylum every year in US, 11 million undocumented workers..and here we are talking about a neglible number of 97000 H4’s in the first year IF this rule is finalised.

      American jobs are not threatened , they have all the options and opportunities to choose any profession..If you are on H1 and you think you are qualified for STEM jobs then so can H4.

      Please stop patronizing how its going to affect anybody.

      Reply
      • @Anonymous-

        I have no clue who the first Rahul is…Can’t there be more than one Rahul on this forum? Use some brains.

        I still believe that there should be more stringent rules for H4 EAD. If not, many people will misuse. No question about that.

        Low-earning US citizens will definitely suffer and there will be more hate crimes for sure!!!

        Reply
  8. This is a good news for H1 candidates with I-140 approval, but bad news for those who are trying to apply for GC. There will be a flood of candidates who will start applying for labor. This will delay the labor process from current 8 months to about an year or more.

    Reply

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