The Truth About H-4 Work Authorization

If your spouse is on an H-1B and you want to work in the US, there's ONLY one path to an H-4 work permit.

Here's how you can go about it:

The H-4 spouse does not automatically have work authorization. A lot of people are surprised by this because other visa categories do provide automatic work authorization for spouses. The L-1 intracompany transferee, the E-2 treaty investor or E-1 treaty trader, even the J-1 cultural exchange visas. Those spouses can work.

The H-1B spouse cannot. Not automatically.

To qualify for an H-4 work permit, your H-1B spouse must meet one of the following:

(1) Have an approved I-140 immigrant petition in any category. It doesn't matter if there's a backlog. Once the I-140 is approved, the H-4 spouse becomes eligible to apply for a work permit.

(2) Be in a post-6th year H-1B extension because they are backlogged and have a PERM or I-140 that has been pending for at least 365 days.

So the path forward is starting the green card process.

Your H-1B spouse needs an employer to sponsor them through a PERM labor certification, or they need to qualify for a category that doesn't require employer sponsorship, such as EB-1A extraordinary ability.

Many Indian tech workers are in this situation. Unfortunately, they are years from getting their green cards because of the country-based backlog. But because they have approved I-140s, their spouses have been able to get work permits.

One thing I will say: I'm honestly surprised this work permit category still exists. At the beginning of this administration, there was concern it would be eliminated. So far, that hasn't happened. But that doesn't mean it won't.

If this is important to your family, it's worth starting the process sooner rather than later.