NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Washington, DC, August 30, 2026 — The Trump administration is reviving an effort to end employment authorization for certain spouses of H-1B workers, a move that could have significant consequences for Indian immigrant families caught in the lengthy employment-based green card backlog.
The Department of Homeland Security has placed the elimination of H-4 employment authorization on its 2026 regulatory agenda, signaling its intention to reverse a policy introduced in 2015 that allows a specific category of H-4 spouses to legally work in the United States.
The potential change would target H-4 spouses who are currently eligible to apply for Employment Authorization Documents, or EADs, under category (c)(26) because their H-1B spouses have reached specified stages of the employment-based green card process.
This primarily includes H-4 spouses whose H-1B partners have an approved Form I-140 immigrant petition, as well as certain spouses of H-1B workers who have been permitted to extend their H-1B status beyond the usual six-year limit under provisions of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act, or AC21.
In practical terms, many of those affected would be spouses of H-1B professionals who have already been sponsored for permanent residency but remain stuck in the green card queue because an immigrant visa number is not yet available.
The issue is particularly significant for Indian immigrants, who make up a large share of the H-1B population and can face exceptionally long waits for employment-based green cards because of per-country limits and accumulated backlogs.
The change, however, has not taken effect. DHS has not yet published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and eligible H-4 spouses can continue to apply for employment authorization under the existing rules.
The new regulatory action, titled “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Classes of Noncitizens Eligible for Employment Authorization,” appears under U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services with Regulation Identifier Number 1615-AD14.
“DHS is proposing to remove from its regulations certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrant workers as a class of aliens eligible to request employment authorization under the (c)(26) category,” the government’s regulatory agenda states.
The planned rule would reverse the 2015 final rule, “Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses,” and restore the previous policy under which H-4 dependent spouses generally were not eligible for employment authorization based on their H-4 status.
Importantly, DHS is not proposing to eliminate H-4 dependent status itself. The action concerns the ability of qualifying H-4 spouses to obtain permission to work in the United States under the (c)(26) EAD category.
The measure is currently classified as a “Long-Term Action,” and its timetable for publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM, is listed as “To Be Determined.” No proposed rule has yet been published and no implementation date has been announced.
That distinction is important because inclusion on the regulatory agenda signals the administration’s policy intention but does not itself change existing immigration regulations.
Before the H-4 EAD program could be eliminated, DHS would generally have to publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register, provide an opportunity for public comment, review those comments and subsequently issue a final rule. A final rule would ordinarily specify when the change takes effect and could also face legal challenges.
Another major unanswered question is what would happen to H-4 spouses who already hold valid EADs. The regulatory agenda does not specify whether existing work permits would remain valid until their expiration dates, whether renewals would be discontinued after a particular date, or whether DHS would establish a transition period. Those details are expected to become clearer if and when the proposed rule is published.
Who Currently Qualifies for an H-4 EAD?
The H-4 visa is available to spouses and certain dependent children of H-1B temporary workers. H-4 status, however, does not automatically provide authorization to work.
In 2015, the Obama administration created employment authorization eligibility for a limited group of H-4 spouses.
Under the current rules, an H-4 spouse may qualify for an EAD if the H-1B spouse is the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, or has been granted H-1B status beyond the normal six-year limit under qualifying provisions of AC21 because of the employment-based permanent residency process.
Those qualifying spouses can apply for an EAD under immigration category (c)(26).
The policy has been especially consequential for families facing long green card waits. Without employment authorization, an H-4 spouse may be legally present in the United States for years but unable to work simply because the family’s permanent residency application remains caught in the backlog.
When DHS introduced the H-4 EAD program in 2015, it said allowing qualifying spouses to work could reduce the economic and personal burdens experienced by H-1B families waiting for permanent residency and help the United States retain highly skilled workers.
An Earlier Attempt to End H-4 EADs
The latest action revives an effort begun during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
DHS previously announced plans to rescind the 2015 H-4 employment authorization rule. That effort proceeded through the regulatory process for several years but never resulted in the elimination of H-4 EADs.
In 2021, DHS formally abandoned the earlier regulatory action, stating that it “no longer intends to issue such a proposed rule.” The action was withdrawn in August 2021.
The administration’s new 2026 regulatory action effectively puts the issue back on the federal rulemaking agenda.
For H-4 families, however, there is no immediate change.
Eligible H-4 spouses can continue to seek employment authorization under the existing (c)(26) rules, and possessing an approved I-140 or otherwise meeting the existing requirements continues to provide a pathway to an H-4 EAD.
The key development to watch will be publication of the actual proposed rule in the Federal Register. That document should reveal exactly how DHS intends to eliminate the employment authorization category, how existing EAD holders and pending applications would be treated, and when any change could potentially take effect.
Until that happens, the 2015 H-4 EAD framework remains in place.
