H1B Visa Dependents, Spouses Can Fly Back To US From India; Travel Allowed Only Till This Date

Good news for the H1B visa holder’s spouses and dependents who are presently stranded in India due to the suspension of work visas till December, as the Trump administration has said they will be given permission to travel back to the United States.

How Did This Happen?

Before this the earlier proclamation had exempted them that suspended non-immigrant visas from the June 22 order due to the ongoing economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to that order, anyone on an H-1B, H4, J1 and H2A visa who did not hold a valid visa as of June 24 would not be allowed to travel to the country till December 31.

Further, those who want to apply for the said visas have to wait till the US Embassy and consulates open in India. 

As these have been shut since March after the government-imposed lockdown in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Who Will Get Benefited By This Announcement?

Though the news gives a positive vibe, but, not all H-1B visa holders will be allowed back as per the reports. 

The list of exemptions issued by the State mentions that, only certain H and J visa applicants who are ‘traveling to work in support of a critical US foreign policy objective (such as Covid-19 response) and/or traveling at the request of the US government, will be exempt from this ban.

Interestingly, this development comes days after a group of 174 Indian nationals, including seven minors filed a lawsuit against the presidential proclamation on H-1B.

According to the lawsuit, “The proclamation 10052’s H-1B/H-4 visa ban hurts the United States’ economy, separates families and defies the Congress. While the two former points render it unseemly, the latter point renders it unlawful,”.

The lawsuit was filed by lawyer Wasden Banias on behalf of the 174 Indian nationals.

Further the lawsuit solicited an order declaring the presidential proclamation restriction on issuing new H-1B or H4 visas or admitting new H-1B or H-4 visa holders as unlawful. 

Moreover, The lawsuit urges the court to compel the Department of State to issue decisions on pending requests for H-1B and H-4 visas.

The proclamation issued by Trump said, “In the administration of our nation’s immigration system, we must remain mindful of the impact of foreign workers on the United States labor market, particularly in the current extraordinary environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labor,” said.

Trump said in his proclamation that the overall unemployment rate in the United States nearly quadrupled between February and May of 2020 — producing some of the most extreme unemployment ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.