Bipartisan National Security Agreement provides 100K work authorisation to spouses and children of H-1B visa holders

H-1B visa holders in the US receive relief as a bipartisan deal grants work authorization to H-4 visa holders, benefiting Indian technology professionals and their families.

In a huge relief for H-1B visa holders, a White House-backed bipartisan deal has been unveiled under which automatic work authorisation would be granted to about 100,000 H-4 visa holders, who are spouses and children of a certain category of H-1B visa holders.

The National Security Agreement that was announced on Sunday after long negotiations between the Republican and the Democratic leadership in the U.S. Senate also provides a solution to about 250,000 aged-out children of H-1B visa holders.

The move comes as good news for hundreds and thousands of Indian technology professionals who are waiting in a painstakingly long wait for a Green Card, in the absence of which their spouses cannot work and their aged-out children face the threat of deportation.

A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. The per-country caps are numerical limits on the issuance of green cards to individuals from certain countries.

“For too long, going back decades, the immigration system has been broken. It’s time to fix it...It will make our country safer, make our border more secure, treat people fairly and humanely while preserving legal immigration, consistent with our values as a nation,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement.

In another good news for Indian American immigrants, the bill provides ageing-out protection for children of long-term H-1B visa holders provided kids have maintained H4 status for eight years.