"Can H-4 visa holders work while in the United States?"

We have heard this question often and the answer has been "no." The dependent of an H-1B visa holder needs to apply for a work-based visa to work while in the United States.

That being said, last month the White House proposed new rules that would allow dependents of H-1B visa holders to work while in the United States. This proposed changed was announced during the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship.

H-4 Visa Changes

Today the Department of Homeland Security formalized that proposal via a press release saying, "The change proposed by DHS, would allow H-4 dependent spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrant workers to request employment authorization, as long as the H-1B worker has already started the process of seeking lawful permanent residence through employment."

This crucial change to the H-4 visa is part of a larger plan to attract highly skilled foreign workers to the United States.

"While the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has not yet been published in the Federal Register for public comment, the announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today indicates that a spouse of an H-1B worker with an approved I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker will soon be able to obtain a temporary Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting an application for work authorization to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This an encouraging step forward by DHS as many H-1B workers must rely on their income alone to support their family. We will continue to monitor the public comment period surrounding this proposed change to the Code of Federal Regulations and provide updates on a timeframe for issuance of a final rule." said Matthew Hellrung, Senior Counsel for VISANOW.

We are looking forward to the day that we can definitively say, "yes, H-4 visa holders can work while in the United States."