US Will Lose $7.4 Billion If Indian Women Are Not Allowed To Work! Indian Wives #1 In Getting H4 Visa

Donald Trump administration has been trying to stop work permits for spouses of H-1B visa holders and if they succeed, it would affect Indian women and the US economy drastically as the Cato Institute in the US say.

Why Would This Happen?

According to a study by Cato Institute, Indian women are an integral part of US workforce and the US economy may shrink by at least $7.5 billion annually in their absence. 

Around, 90% of H-4 workers (spouses of H-1Bs get the H-4 visa) are highly paid women from India with college degrees, according to David Bier, an immigration policy analyst at Cato Institute’s Centre for Global Liberty and Prosperity.

So, if the Trump administration succeeds in their efforts, it will have a serious impact on Indian women and the US economy.

It becomes difficult for H-1Bs to stay in the US for long if their spouses find it difficult to work there.

EADs For H-4

So, during 2015, the Obama administration had created an employment authorization document (EAD) provision for H-4 to encourage these people.

Basically, EADs are given to H-4s only if their H-1B spouses are being sponsored by their employers to acquire permanent residency in the US.

Out of about 500,000, currently, only 90,000 spouses have the work authorizations on H-4, as per the Cato Institute estimates. 

From 2015 to 2020, two-thirds of H-4 visa holders sponsored by employers for permanent residence worked in computer and math occupations as Bier said. 

Over two-thirds of those were software developers in occupations. 

Mostly, Indian male engineers on H-1Bs try to marry equally qualified women who then join them in the US on H-4 visas.

In 2019, H-4 visa holder’s median wage was $111,632 who is sponsored by employers for permanent residence as Bier mentioned.

While, for H-1B workers in the same position, they offer $113,022 and $53,490 for all US workers. 

So, Bier’s estimation of the loss of $7.5 billion is based on these figures and also the work-authorization numbers.

Nearly 70% of the H-1Bs go to Indians, that’s why they dominate in numbers in H-4s and in 2020, the Indian share of H-4s reached to as high as 87%.