Nearly 2 lakh spouses eligible to work in US

Hyderabad: With the US Citizenship and Immigration Services accepting applications for spouses on H-1B visas, as per the USCIS estimation, the total number of H-1B spouses eligible to register for employment after receiving the authorisation card would be as many as 1.79 lakh Indians in the first year and half a lakh in the subsequent years. The USCIS, in a statement, said the department of homeland security was extending the eligibility for employment authorisation (EAD) to certain H4 dependent spouses of H-1B non-immigrants who were seeking employment-based Permanent Residency.

Eligible individuals include certain H4 dependent spouses of H-1B non-immigrants (principal H-1B worker) who are the beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, or satisfy at least one or more of the three conditions. The conditions include that the principal H-1B worker must have an approved I-140 or be currently on an extended H-1B status beyond the six-year limitation based upon an I-140 petition application pending for at least 365 days (one calendar year).

Anand Kavedi, spouse of Ms Priyanka Kavedi, an H-1B visa holder, explained, “Most H-1B visa spouses are equally qualified and talented, however, owing to the present US laws, they are unable to contribute with regard to income and this puts an end to their goals. The spouses, though professionals, are forced to be homemakers. However, this announcement will benefit thousands of professional Indian spouses who visit the US but cannot work.”

The Telugu Association of North America said in a statement, “This decision is going to directly benefit many of our life members as they would now be able to join the professional workforce and chase the ‘American Dream’.”