The U.S. immigration system lags behind those of other countries in many ways. We still affix physical visas in passports – something Australia abandoned nearly 10 years ago when it moved to an all-electronic visa system. Our immigration system is predominantly paper-based, with limited opportunities for electronic filing, an area where other countries have fully embraced modern solutions. We also lag behind in other areas, including processing times, expedited options, immigration pathways for digital nomads, and an immigration system that is responsive to the changing economic needs of workers in specific occupations and sectors.

For a long time, the United States lagged behind other countries in supporting dual-career immigration, but that has changed in the last decade. This development was recently highlighted by the decision in Save Jobs USA vs DHS.

Since 2015, spouses of H-4 residents have been eligible for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) if they meet certain criteria, including eligibility for a green card, but with a long waiting period due to annual and country-specific restrictions on green card approval; criteria that most spouses of H-4 residents do not meet until they have already been in the United States for several years. The plaintiff in Save jobs USA challenged this work authorization extension as an unlawful use of the executive power of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). On August 2, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that this was a lawful use of DHS power. Without an appeal to the Supreme Court, the uncertainty over H-4 EADs ends. This ruling, along with an April 2024 announcement by USCIS extending H-4 EADs for up to 540 days for those waiting to renew their EADs, means that nearly 100,000 H-4 spouses can now pursue careers without fear of unexpected gaps in work authorization.

Additionally, as of 2021, the U.S. no longer requires EADs for certain E and L spouses. Although this is not widely known (our team is often asked about it), starting in November 2021, U.S. immigration authorities began issuing documents allowing these spouses to work based only on their I-94 immigration document, without the need for a separate EAD application. This eliminated long delays and work authorization loopholes that prevented dual-career couples from continuing their dual careers after moving to the U.S. With these developments, the U.S. is slowly joining other similar economies around the world that automatically allow dependent spouses to work.

More progress is possible. Currently, there are 35 countries that allow spouses or partners to work freely, according to the Permits Foundation, an advocacy group that works to “enable dual careers in the global workforce.” The U.S. is included on that list, but the foundation points out that spouses are only allowed to work in certain categories and that work permits are often subject to long delays. In the U.S., not all types of dependents have access to a work permit. H-4 spouses are excluded until their H-1B spouse reaches a certain point in the green card process (which takes about 4 years for many and creates a large career gap for a traveling spouse). Spouses of J-1 visa holders must still apply separately for an EAD. Spouses of F-1 student visa holders are not allowed to work, even during the one- to three-year post-graduation work permit granted to international graduates of U.S. universities. We also do not grant immigration status to unmarried partners. Although many other countries, including Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, and Australia, offer an immigration pathway for unmarried partners, there is no option for this if an unmarried couple wants to move to the U.S. together (which leads to some interesting conversations and sometimes the complete cancellation of a planned move). Overall, expanding work authorization to married (and even unmarried) partners of workers already employed in the U.S. in various non-immigrant categories could be a boon to the labor market. Our team is often asked how to find new sources of skilled and unskilled labor to fill job openings. Expanding this work authorization pathway would allow this latent talent pool, much of which is already here in the U.S., to enter the U.S. workforce.

Bottom line: If you’re a traveling spouse and are one of the few categories of dependents who don’t need a separate work permit (E or L), rejoice. You can likely work in the U.S. without needing anything more than the immigration document you were issued when you arrived. If you’re not one of those lucky ones, discuss your options with an immigration counselor and hope the U.S. continues to keep pace with other immigration destinations.