Petition Afoot: Final Push to Keep H-1B Spouses Working

Immigration lawyers can relate numerous instances over the past year where life has been made purposely difficult for both immigration lawyers and the foreign nationals whom they represent. Whether it is denying walk-in visits at the local field office, ending online scheduling of Infopass appointments, or demanding that telephone inquiries come directly from lawyers and not their office support staff, these ridiculous anti-immigrant practices have been loosely but cohesively characterized by lawyers as "The Invisible Wall". They are designed for the sole purpose of driving up the cost of legal representation and forcing foreign nationals to attend immigration-related interviews without being properly represented.

Recently, we drew attention to the enormous difficulties being faced by H-1B applicants in a separate blog titled"H-1B Application Rejections at All Time High Under Trump Administration". The latest move, to end work authorization for H-1B spouses, is part of those policies that are aimed squarely at dissuading foreign nationals from applying to work in the U.S., or encouraging those already working in the U.S. to leave. However, it is not just outmoded, but completely primeval to think that such policies benefit U.S. as a nation. Currently there is a petition that has been presented to the current administration as reported by The Mercury News. Hopefully, this petition garners sufficient signatures to trigger second thoughts on this changing of immigration regulations.

Bloomberg Law reports that numerous lawsuits are pending over the prolific denials of H-1B applications. In addition, USCIS recently published statistics which reveal the extent of the scrutiny being directed at H-1B applications, especially those from Indian companies: TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, the US divisions of Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies. The stripping of Employment authorization from H-1B spouses (H-4s) serves to further the downward pressure on the demand for H-1B Visas.

We assist countless foreign nationals and we will be happy to personally assist you with your application as well. Drop us a line at Lawyer@MurrayLawNJ.com or call us at (888)354-6257. For reasons on why you should consult an immigration attorney whenever you have an immigration issue, see our page titled: Reasons Why it is Vital to Use an Immigration Lawyer.