Spouses of H-1B visa holders with technical skills may be allowed to
work in the United States under a new initiative by the Obama
administration to attract the best and brightest from across the world.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon publish several
proposed rules that will make the U.S. more attractive for talented
foreign entrepreneurs and other high-skill immigrants who will
contribute substantially to the U.S. economy, create jobs, and enhance
American innovative competitiveness, the White House said in a
statement.
“These proposed regulations include rules authorising employment for
spouses of certain high-skill workers on H-1B visas, as well as
enhancing opportunities for outstanding professors and researchers,” it
said on Monday.
“These measures build on continuing DHS efforts to streamline, eliminate
inefficiency, and increase the transparency of the existing immigration
system, such as by the launch of Entrepreneur Pathways, an online
resource centre that gives immigrant entrepreneurs an intuitive way to
navigate opportunities to start and grow a business,” it said.
From the statement, it appears that spouses of H-1B visas are unlikely
to get a blanket approval to work in the U.S. Only certain categories of
spouses of such visa holders, mainly from the science and tech
category, are likely to get the nod.
