The Trump administration is planning to propose to end allowing spouses of H1-B visa holders to work legally in the US, a top federal agency official has told lawmakers, a move that could have a devastating impact on tens of thousands of Indians The move to end the Obama-era rule could have an impact on more than 70,000 H-4 visas holders, who have work permits.H-4 is issued to the spouse of H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are high-skilled professionals from India . They had obtained work permits under a special order issued by the previous Obama administration.Indian-Americans were a major beneficiary of this provision. More than 100,000 H-4 visa holders have been beneficiary of this rule.A 2015 rule issued by the Obama administration allows work permits for spouses who otherwise could not be employed while H-1B visa holders seek permanent resident status -- a process that can take a decade or longer.The Trump administration is planning to terminate this provision. A formal communication is expected to be made later this summer, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Francis Cissna said in a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley. "As of June 2017, USCIS had granted 71,287 initial (versus renewal) employment authorisation documents to H-4 spouses," the study which was released last week said.Of those H-4 spouses with work authorisation as of early 2017, a total of 94 per cent were women, and the vast majority, 93 per cent, were from India, while four per cent were from China , the study said.

Source: Economic Times April 24, 2018 07:24 UTC