The H-4 EAD program will continue unchanged.
The prior administration attempted to cancel allowing certain persons in H-4 status to obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by proposing a new rule that would cancel the program. On January 25, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew the proposed rule from consideration before the cancellation of H-4 EADs went into effect.
This action means that persons in H-4 status who are elgible for work authorization can still apply for and receive an H-4 EAD.
However, issuance of H-4 EADs are experiencing substantial delays.
Over the last year, the time it takes to actually receive an H-4 EAD has slowed significantly. There are two causes Hfor the processing delay.
First, the delays began when USCIS changed their procedure to no longer adjudicate the H-4 Extension of Status (and attached I-765 EAD request) at the same time they decide the H-1Bs Extension of Status. This added a delay of many months before the H-4 EAD was issued.
And second, overall USCIS processing times of many applications greatly slowed during COVID times. A large part of the delayed processing has also been attributed to implementation of time-consuming changes in adjudicative policies that applied a more restrictive view to H-1B eligibility.
Many of us are hoping that these inefficiencies will gradually be corrected within the next year.
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