Reports: DHS Weighs Ending Work Permits for Some H-1B Holders' Spouses

Reports emerged Saturday, August 29, 2026 that the Department of Homeland Security is considering a regulatory proposal to strip work-permit eligibility from certain H-4 visa holders — spouses of H-1B workers — reversing a 2015 Obama-era rule that let some H-4 spouses obtain Employment Authorization Documents once their H-1B spouse reached a specified stage of the employment-based green card process. The plan remains in early rulemaking stages; DHS has not issued a formal proposed rule or specified how many people could be affected, whether current permit holders would be grandfathered, or an implementation timeline. A similar effort during Trump's first term was proposed but abandoned in 2021 without eliminating H-4 work authorization.