‘Will alleviate severe quality of life issues’.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: Immigration Voice, a national grass-roots organization of legal, high-skilled immigrants living in the United States, has expressed its delight and lauded President Barack Obama for the announcement today by the USCIS to give EAD, work permit cards to certain H4 visa holders.
The organization (www.immigrationvoice.org), which has been lobbying Capitol Hill for the last 10 years to implement changes in immigration laws to help legal immigrants who are limbo because of the stalling of their Green Card applications, pointed out in a press release that spouses of skilled immigrants generally have advanced STEM degrees, many from the best US Universities.
This regulatory change on granting EAD cards to certain H4 visa holders, will allow them to work or start their own businesses, contributing to the US economy, said Immigration Voice. This will alleviate severe quality of life issues faced by the spouses and their families, it added.
“Today’s announcement brings a ray of hope to the thousands of tax paying law abiding skilled immigrant spouses as they will finally be able to work and start their own businesses in America. The President’s leadership will allow skilled immigrant spouses to contribute the full measure of their talents to the U.S. economy,†said Pratik Dakwala, Co-Founder and Director of Immigration Voice, in s statement. “Great numbers of these spouses are engineers, doctors, innovators, research scientists and professors. Until now, immigrant spouses were not allowed to work, sometime for over a decade while they and their families await adjudication of green card petitions. However, this fix will enable immigrant spouses to live up to their full potential.â€
Dheeraj Kohli, Vice President of Immigration Voice, said in a statement: “As announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014, Immigration Voice very much hopes that this fix is the first in the series of more regulatory changes that will be implemented soon. And while Administrative fixes are most welcome, we implore Congress to live up to its promise to address our nation’s priority issues, and fix the broken immigration system.â€
Group President and Co-founder Aman Kapoor said that, “We are grateful to President Obama and his administration for Executive Action on Immigration to address the severe quality of life issues faced by hundreds and thousands of families, including allowing spousal work authorization for certain H-1B visa holders.â€
Immigration Voice has almost 100,000 members across the country and represents the interests of the nearly one million skilled immigrants and their family members caught in existing green card backlogs.
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Since 2009, he imperial presidency of Barack Obama has already been issuing millions of employment authorization documents without authorization from Congress. Search by title for “Government Data Reveal Millions of New Work Permits Issued Since 2009” A summary of this article is found by searching for the title, “Shadow Immigration System Negatively Impacts American Workers.” The harms described by @ollieallears below have been the experience of millions of talented, hard-working American citizens since the H-1 Visa was expanded to include college professors and researchers in 1976 by the obscure “Eilberg Amendment.” The Eilberg Amendment was cited as legislative precedent for the passage of the controversial H-1B Visa in 1990.
You laud Barack Obama ? Because SOME H-4 wives are now allowed to work ?
Did you read the new rules ? It still takes a few years before a work permit (EAD) can be issued to an H-4. And for the majority of H-4’s: several years.
That is, if USCIS does not get more back-logged than it already is.
And Good Luck ! trying to find a job after several years of unemployment.
US employers do not quickly hire someone with a ‘gap’ in the resume.
And most have never heard about the H-4 visa – they simply do not believe that the US government forbids a group of LEGAL immigrants to work here.
The H-4 still has not the same rights as the L-2, the J-2, the E-3 visa holders have.
Similar situations should lead to similar rights.
Shame on the US to still keep women in this unequal position.
And shame on a Prez who waited such a long time do to something and then allowed such a lame ruling.
Yes I am upset because I lived many years in the special hell that is called H-4.
A hell for which there is no rhyme or reason to be found !
It took eight years to get a Green Card. I tried to get a job but found I was seen as damaged material – I have never been able to work in the US.
Now I am 65. I have no money, no Social Security, no premium-free MediCare A.
I wish I could go home but I cannot afford it. H-4 is a gift that keeps on giving !