It has been widely reported, including by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, that on February 20, 2019 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as per normal regulatory procedure to rescind the H-4 spouse employment authorization document (H-4 EAD) regulation. Reportedly, approximately 90,000 H-4 EAD-holders will be affected if the rule is rescinded.

According to procedure, OMB will first review the DHS proposal, the text of which has not yet been released to the public. The proposed rule will then appear in the Federal Register. After publication in the Federal Register, the public comment period is typically 30-60 days. Thereafter, DHS must review the feedback from the public before issuing a final regulation.

If not already done, it would be prudent for those with H-4 EAD work authorization to contact an attorney right away to consider other work-authorized immigration options. With the time for filing H-1B cap petitions quickly approaching, the sooner this is done the better or the possibility of an FY2020 H-1B cap petition may be foreclosed to H-4 EAD-holders for whom it would otherwise be available.

When the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, we will provide further information.

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