H-1B visa holders, especially the ones most affected by mass layoffs in tech companies may have found some relief with the recent ruling. As per updates, a US District Judge Tanya Chutkan has reportedly ruled in favour of these H-1B visa holders mentioning that their spouses can work in the United States (US).
According to a Bloomberg report, the Judge dismissed a suit challenging the rights of highly skilled H-1B visa holders’ spouses to work in the US. Through this ruling, big tech companies too, won a major court fight in Washington.
The report adds that the decision upholds the “Obama-era rule under which the US Department of Homeland Security has issued H-4 visas to the spouses of hundreds of thousands of H-1B workers in the US, 70% of whom hold science and engineering jobs in the tech sector.”
The ability and opportunity of H-1B visa holders’ spouses to also get jobs has not just been a major point of contention but also attraction for these skilled workers. Several tech companies have reportedly also argued in this favour and as per the report, Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Google and Microsoft Corp. are among the companies that urged the Judge to let the rule be.
Hundreds of H-1B visa holders have faced problems in finding new jobs after being laid off. While stakeholders have presented alternate options, the H-1B visa continues to be a lucrative and go-to option for many, despite the challenges it has posed during this season of mass layoffs.
