Two US lawmakers have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that aims at granting an automatic right to H-4 visa holders to work in the country, a move which will benefit the wives of Indian professionals working in America.

H-4 visas are issued to dependent spouses and children who accompany H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the United States.

Many H-4 visa holders are highly skilled people in their own right and previously had careers of their own or worked to support their families.

Most Indian IT professionals in the USA have H-1B work visas meant for foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

While H-2A visas are issued to people doing temporary agricultural jobs, H-2B visas are for people doing temporary no-nagricultural jobs and H-3 visas are for non-immigrant trainees or special education exchange visitors.

Congresswomen Carolyn Bourdeaux and Maria Elvira Salazar while introducing the Bill on Thursday said the proposed legislation is aimed at addressing the labour shortage in the country affecting American businesses and helping immigrant families thrive together.

Right now, the spouses of highly-skilled immigrants have to fight through years of bureaucratic red tape before they are allowed to work in the United States, said Bourdeaux.

This bill removes these needless barriers to ensure families can contribute and prosper together. If we are going to continue to be competitive and attract the greatest minds and talent around the world, we must ensure that the family members of high-value immigrants are able to build a life and career in the United States, just like everyone else, she said.