US removes hurdle to pave way for wives of Indian techies to get jobs

<p>
In a move that will benefit the wives of thousands of Indian techies working in the US, the Biden administration has agreed to provide automatic work authorisation permits to spouses of H-1B and L-1 visas holders.</p>
<p>
The settlement in the matter was arrived at by the Department of Homeland Security in a class-action lawsuit, which was filed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on behalf of immigrant spouses.</p>
<p>
The settlement comes as a major relief as the spouses of Indian engineers were caught up in a months-long backlog to receive work permits and many of them are reported to have lost their jobs.</p>
<p>
The litigation has resulted in reversing the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy that prohibited H-4 spouses from benefiting from the automatic extension of their employment authorisation during the pendency of stand-alone applications.</p>