From May 26, spouses of H1-B visa holders working in the hi-tech sector will be eligible to work in the US.

This applies to husbands and wives of foreigners holding H-4 visas and will benefit more than 179,000 people in the next year, and 55,000 in subsequent years, according to statements made by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials.

Before this executive action was taken, Federal law mandated that spouses had to apply for green cards, which can take 5-7 years, and were not authorised to work in the interim. Though the regulatory move has been in the works since November last year, it is the first element of Obama’s package of executive actions on immigration.

This change has been pushed by tech companies in the Silicon Valley, led by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Employees working in the tech sector, science, engineering and medical industries have been pushing for this as they feel that it hurts their ability to attract and retain talent.

According to South Asian Americans Leading Together, a number of South Asians enter the US through the H-1B visa programme and figures from the State Department show that approximately 76 per cent of those who received H-4 status in 2013 were from South Asian countries. This move is a great boon to spouses who are qualified but have not been able to find meaningful employment, said Rajkamal Rao, an immigration expert.

However, the Obama administration faces challenges in the form of funding this initiative and opposition from Republican lawmakers.

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