H-1B dependent spouses can’t get jobs in US? Big blow for immigrants as DHS mulls work permit rollback

H-1B dependent spouses could face a major setback in the US if the Department of Homeland Security moves ahead with a plan to eliminate employment authorization for certain H-4 visa holders.

DHS has revived a regulatory proposal that would remove certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B workers from the categories eligible for employment authorization.

The proposal would effectively roll back a rule introduced in 2015 that allowed qualifying H-4 spouses to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The proposal is listed in the federal regulatory agenda as “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Classes of Noncitizens Eligible for Employment Authorization.”

The development does not mean H-4 work permits have been cancelled. The proposal remains at an early stage and would need to go through the federal rulemaking process before any change could take effect.

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Under the current rules, certain H-4 spouses of H-1B workers can apply for employment authorization. According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services , an H-4 spouse may qualify when the H-1B spouse is the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, or has received certain H-1B extensions beyond the normal six-year limit under the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act.

DHS introduced the H-4 EAD rule in 2015. The final rule, published in the Federal Register, extended employment authorization eligibility to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who were pursuing employment-based permanent residence .

For eligible spouses, the EAD provides the ability to work in the US without being tied to a specific employer.

The proposed change would reverse the 2015 policy and remove certain H-4 spouses as a class of people eligible for employment authorization. The federal regulatory record describes the proposal as an effort to amend the existing rule by eliminating this employment-authorization category.

The proposal is not entirely new. During the first Trump administration, DHS pursued a similar effort to end employment authorization for certain H-4 spouses . The proposal was later withdrawn, according to the Federal Register. DHS has now placed a new H-4 EAD rescission proposal, on its 2026 regulatory agenda as a “Long-Term Action.”

The current move therefore revives a policy fight that has already affected H-1B families for years.

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For H-4 spouses currently working with valid EADs, the latest development does not immediately end their employment authorization.

A regulatory agenda entry is not the same as a final rule. DHS would have to publish a formal proposed rule, provide an opportunity for public comment and then consider those comments before issuing a final regulation.