Bill introduced for grant of automatic right to H4 visa holders to work in US

Two American Congresswomen on Thursday introduced a bill in the House of Representatives aimed at granting an automatic right to H4 visa holders to work in the USThe two lawmakers introduced the legislation saying it is aimed at addressing the labour shortage in the country affecting American businesses and helping immigrant families thrive togetherH4 visas are issued to dependent spouses and children who accompany H1B H2A H2B and H3 visa holders to the United StatesMany H4 visa holders are highly skilled people in their own right and previously had careers of their own or worked to support their familiesIntroduced by Congresswomen Carolyn Bourdeaux and Maria Elvira Salazar the H4 Work Authorization Act seeks to change the current law and grant the spouses of H1B visa holding immigrants an automatic right to work after receiving their H4 visaThis would remove the requirement for visa holders to apply for a Form I765 an Employment Authorisation Document EAD they saidRight now the spouses of highlyskilled immigrants have to fight through years of bureaucratic red tape before they are allowed to work in the United States said BourdeauxThis bill removes these needless barriers to ensure families can contribute and prosper together If we are going to continue to be competitive and attract the greatest minds and talent around the world we must ensure that the family members of highvalue immigrants are able to build a life and career in the United States just like everyone else she saidSalazar said this policy will help the United States maximise its entrepreneurial spirit and continue leading in job creation innovation research and development and economic growth by meeting critical labour market needsCurrently the H4 visa holders must apply for work authorization and wait for it to be processed before they can work even though they are already in the United States and their spouse is working hereDue to backlogs at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS applications for work authorization can take anywhere from six to eight months with some applications taking over one year to be approvedThe bill which has been endorsed by the National Immigration Forum and UnidosUs hopes to fill Americas labour gap and allow these visa holders to quickly work and provide for their familiesIt could also help to reduce the backlog of work authorisation applications at USCIS by providing immediate work authorization to H4 visa holders and reducing the number of work authorizations USCIS must process a media release saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever