A group of Indian-origin spouses of high-skilled foreign workers has mounted a legal challenge against the Trump administration’s decision to end automatic extensions of work permits for H-4 visa holders, arguing that the policy reversal unlawfully jeopardises livelihoods, destabilises immigrant families, and ignores persistent government-acknowledged processing delays.
The lawsuit was filed on January 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, seeking nationwide relief from an interim final rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in October 2025. That rule dismantled the long-standing practice that allowed H-4 employment authorisation documents (EADs) to be automatically extended while renewal applications were pending.
The seven plaintiffs—all spouses of H-1B professionals with approved green card petitions—argue that the sudden rollback was implemented without public consultation and fails to account for chronic backlogs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). As a result, they contend, thousands of legally employed immigrants now face forced work stoppages through no fault of their own.
According to the court filing, some petitioners have already lost work authorisation, while others are “on the brink of involuntary unemployment solely because USCIS has not adjudicated timely filed renewal applications.”
A Policy Reversal With Far-Reaching Impact
Under earlier regulations, H-4 spouses who filed renewal applications on time were permitted to continue working for up to 180 days after their permits expired. In response to unprecedented processing delays, USCIS expanded this grace period to 540 days in 2022 and later made the protection permanent beginning January 2025.
The October 2025 interim rule abruptly eliminated these automatic extensions, effectively reviving the very employment disruptions that federal agencies had previously acknowledged as harmful.
“The government recognised that long processing times were forcing law-abiding workers out of their jobs and acted to fix it,” the lawsuit states. “This rule reverses that solution without addressing the underlying problem.”
Structural Delays, Personal Consequences
The plaintiffs argue that H-4 spouses are uniquely vulnerable to bureaucratic delays because their eligibility to apply for EAD renewals is tightly linked to the status of the primary H-1B worker. Any delay by an employer in filing an H-1B extension reduces the dependent spouse’s filing window.
With USCIS processing times frequently exceeding six months—and in some cases stretching over a year—the absence of automatic extensions makes employment disruption virtually inevitable, the petition argues.
Immigration analysts estimate that the rule could affect nearly 100,000 Indian H-4 EAD holders, the vast majority of whom are women employed in sectors such as technology, healthcare, finance, education, and research.
Disputed National Security Justification
The Trump administration has defended the policy change on national security and public safety grounds, asserting that automatic extensions limit oversight of work-authorised non-citizens. The plaintiffs dispute this claim, arguing that DHS already conducts continuous background monitoring and has not demonstrated how temporary extensions increase risk.
“The government has offered no evidence that automatic EAD extensions pose any additional security threat,” the lawsuit states, noting that beneficiaries remain subject to revocation at any time if concerns arise.
Legal experts say this argument may prove significant, as courts often scrutinise interim rules that bypass notice-and-comment requirements unless agencies can show genuine emergency conditions.
Legal Strategy and Relief Sought
The plaintiffs are represented by immigration attorneys Justin Tseng and Jonathan D. Wasden, who have asked the court to set aside the interim rule, reinstate automatic EAD extensions, and block DHS from enforcing the policy nationwide.
If successful, the case could restore work continuity for tens of thousands of H-4 spouses and provide relief to U.S. employers who rely on their specialised skills.
Broader Implications for Immigrant Families
Advocacy groups warn that the policy threatens not only economic stability but also long-term integration goals. Many H-4 spouses have built careers, paid taxes, and contributed to local economies for years while awaiting permanent residency.
“This rule doesn’t just interrupt employment—it upends families’ lives and careers,” immigration observers say, noting that prolonged gaps in employment can permanently derail professional trajectories, especially for women.
As the case proceeds, its outcome is expected to resonate well beyond the courtroom, shaping the future of dependent work authorisation policy and testing how immigration systems balance enforcement priorities with administrative realities.
