Google parent company
Alphabet Inc’s on Friday came in favor of H-1B spouses to protect their right
to work in the United States. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has asserted that he is
leading nearly 30 companies and trade organizations to battle against the
lawsuit that seeks the dismissal of spouses of immigrants on H-1B visa in USA.
In a blog post, Catherine Lacavera, V-P, Legal said it is necessary to maintain a fair immigration system to preserve America’s “laudable history” of hailing foreign skilled workers from across the world which “fuels a virtuous cycle of innovation.”
Lacavera, an immigrant herself, voicing out against the lawsuit said, “Unfortunately, an impending court case is putting both at risk at the most inopportune moment.”
It may be noted here that spouses of H-1B visa holders, who majorly comes from India and China, get H-4 visas and only in certain cases they can apply for employment authorization document.
However, earlier, the H-4 visa holders were granted the work permit only after their H-1B spouses were well-off to receive a permanent resident card aka “green card.”
Perhaps due to backlog of PR cards, Obama administration in 2015 had to introduce the H-4 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) rule which proved beneficial for the families striving to survive on a single income.
On the other side, Save Jobs USA, a group of IT workers claimed that they lost jobs to H-1B workers thus, filed a lawsuit to end issuing of H-4 EAD for the spouses of H-1B visa holders.
Earlier, during President Donald Trump’s rule, the lawsuit witnessed a delay as the administration pondered much withdrawing the H-4 work rule. The govt kept on considering and the charge of office was taken by Joe Biden.
Also Read: UK School teacher falls for ‘Elon Musk’ Bitcoin Scam, loses Rs 9 lakh
As of now, both Biden administration and the complainants seek the summary judgment in the cade.
According to Lacavera, the H-4 EAD rule provides work assistance to over 90,000 spouses of H-1B visa holders. And of this, 90 percent are women to get assistance. Also, the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically impacted women and if this norm gets quashed it will only make things worse, she added.
“To
support this important program, we are leading an amicus brief with nearly 30
companies and organizations to preserve and protect the H-4 EAD program,”
Lacavera announced.
She also added that if the H-4 EAD norm is withdrawn it will hurt the families
and would also relapse the US economy amid the pandemic situation.
Meanwhile, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who is also an immigrant from India, said that the company is proud to support the immigrants working in the US. He took to the micro-blogging site and informed that they have joined 30 other companies to protect a program that “spurs innovation, creates jobs and opportunities, and helps families.”