- DHS plans to remove employment authorization for some H-1B spouses, but the proposal is not yet effective.
- USCIS still accepts and decides Form I-765 applications under the current H-4 EAD framework.
- The rule would require a proposed rule, public comments, a final rule, and effectiveness before eligibility changes.
The Department of Homeland Security has planned a rule to remove employment authorization for some H-1B spouses, but the proposal has not taken effect. Current holders and eligible applicants face no immediate change under the existing framework.
The measure remains an early-stage regulatory action. DHS has listed the timing for publishing a proposed rule as “To Be Determined,” leaving current spouse employment authorization available under present rules.
Free toolH-1B Cost Calculator Online
USCIS continues accepting and deciding Form I-765 applications in the existing category. Eligible applicants can still seek authorization while the proposal remains pending.
The administration’s stated aim is to end eligibility for certain dependent spouses. DHS’s abstract describes the plan this way:
“restore DHS's long-standing policy of not extending eligibility to request employment authorization to H-4 dependent spouses.”
The proposed approach would reverse the 2015 Obama-era rule that created employment-authorization eligibility for qualifying H-4 dependent spouses. That program has allowed certain spouses of H-1B workers to work legally in the United States for more than a decade.
The regulatory entry appeared on the DHS long-term agenda on August 29, 2026. It carries RIN 1615-AD14, and the entry does not provide a target date for releasing the notice of proposed rulemaking.
A final rule would still require several federal steps
DHS cannot implement the proposed change simply by placing it on the agenda. The measure would have to move through the federal rulemaking process:
- DHS would publish a proposed rule.
- The public would receive an opportunity to submit comments.
- The agency would review the comments and issue a final rule.
- The final rule would need to become effective before the policy could alter eligibility.
The proposal is currently listed as a long-term action. Its publication date remains undetermined.
Until those steps occur, valid employment authorization continues under the current system. Existing cards remain subject to their individual expiration dates.
Eligibility continues for qualifying dependent spouses
The current framework covers spouses when the H-1B principal has an approved Form I-140. It also covers cases in which the principal has secured H-1B time beyond the normal six-year limit under AC21 provisions.
That eligibility remains in place until a final rule changes the category and takes effect. The present system therefore continues to govern both current holders and qualifying future applicants.
The proposal does not itself cancel existing cards. Nor does it stop USCIS from processing current filings.
Immigration expert Swatilina Barik said there is “no need to panic today” because the agenda entry represents a statement of intent rather than a rule. Her comment reflects the proposal’s current procedural status.
Current filings and workplace authorization remain governed by existing rules
People working with valid authorization should continue following the conditions and expiration dates attached to their documents. The same framework applies while USCIS accepts and decides pending Form I-765 filings.
H-1B employers can continue treating an employee’s valid employment authorization under the current rules until its stated expiration. The proposal alone does not create a new end date for that authorization.
Spouses preparing applications still need to qualify under the existing requirements tied to the principal worker’s approved immigrant petition or extended H-1B time. Those conditions remain the operative eligibility tests.
The administration has not announced an immediate termination date. A regulatory proposal must first be published, opened for public comment, finalized, and made effective.
Public comments were reported as accepted until September 24, 2026 in a related H-1B rulemaking context. That date does not replace the separate H-4 proposal’s undetermined publication schedule.
The plan therefore leaves the present system operating while DHS considers a future change. Current authorization remains available under existing rules, and the long-term agenda entry has not yet become an enforceable policy.
