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H1-B visa spouses may soon get to work in US
Updated: 2014-05-30 12:07
By Elizabeth Wu in New York and Zhang Qidong in San Francisco (China Daily USA)

China's highly skilled workers in the United States have long been a contributing force to the country's economy, but obtaining a work visa for their spouses has always been difficult. Now the US is proposing to change that.

Though still in the proposal stage, the expected rule change would allow H-4 dependent spouses of highly skilled immigrant workers who hold an H-1B visa to work legally in the country. Under current regulations, the Homeland Security Department does not allow such work authorization for spouses.

On May 6, the Homeland Security Department announced the publication of two new proposed rules: to extend employment authorization to certain dependant spouses of H-4 visa holders, of H-1B workers (similar to spouses of E or L visas) and a proposal to enhance opportunities for certain groups of highly-skilled workers by removing obstacles to their remaining in the US, by allowing certain visa holders such as E-3, H-1B1 and CW-1 visa holders to continue working for 240 days, while an extension petition is pending.

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Proposals are subject to a 60-day period of public comment, which could lead to changes. Homeland Security officials have said they hope to issue final regulations by year-end.

The congressional-mandated quota for H-1B visas is 65,000 for the fiscal year 2015 beginning Oct 1. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will award 20,000 more H-1B visas to those with a master's degree or higher degrees from US educational institutions. China has the second-highest number of citizens receiving H-1B visas.

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More:
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2014...nt_17553879.htm