Update: H-4 EAD Revocation Threat

• Proposed rule revoking H-4 EAD program is not expected to be published until June.
• H-4 EAD continues to be available for those who qualify.
• Individuals using H-4 EAD should consider H-1B visa option now, if qualified, before cap may be exhausted in April.

Call it winning the battle, but losing the war.  The proposal to eliminate the program providing work permits (H-4 EADs) has been delayed. This information comes in the context of a status update provided by DHS to an appellate court hearing the lawsuit SAVE Jobs USA.  DHS has repeatedly asked the court to delay the case while it drafts a proposed rule to undo the program's existence.   It now looks as if the proposed rule will not go public until June, at earliest.  This is welcome news for the time being. Yet, DHS confirmed that its intention to propose a rule undoing the program remains unchanged.

The Department of Homeland Security Feb. 28 said “significant revisions” were made to a draft that originally was slated for a February release. Those revisions required a new economic analysis, which “required an additional several weeks to perform,” the DHS told a federal appeals court.