H4 EAD Repeal
— By Rahul Reddy and Emily Neumann, Attorneys at Law
This past Tuesday, the United States of America elected Donald J. Trump to be the 45th President. In the aftermath of this election, many immigrants are fearful that their status may be in jeopardy. Donald Trump’s stance on immigration was a cornerstone of his campaign, and he continually reaffirmed his desire to end illegal immigration. Instead of inspiring fear in legal immigrants, this should offer some comfort. While we do not know what President Elect Trump will do once in office, it is safe to guess that his policy will focus on stopping illegal immigration, rather than removing or drastically changing legal immigration avenues that exist currently. The H-4 EAD program is one such avenue. It is unlikely that this regulation will be changed or removed in any way that will substantially affect those who hold the visa, or it’s availability to those who wish to enter the United States by obtaining one.
President Elect Trump has stated that he will roll back the executive orders known as DACA and DAPA which allow undocumented immigrants with clean criminal records to come forward and join a path to citizenship. The end of these policies should not be interpreted as wholly anti-immigrant sentiment, but rather as encouragement for workers, individuals, and families to enter the United States legally. Immigrants in the United States on visas like the H-4 EAD should not be affected. One reason is that these immigrants are in the U.S. legally, and therefore not subject to the provisions outlined in the executive orders the President Elect has said he will repeal. Additionally, unlike DAPA and DACA, the regulations giving rise to the H-4 EAD visa were promulgated by regulatory agencies, and are not based in an executive order. Even if Donald Trump does repeal the executive orders dealing with illegal immigration, this will have no effect on visas available through regulations set by the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.
A transfer of power between administrations in the United States is always accompanied by some uncertainty as citizens, immigrants, and political pundits try to predict what the new President will do. The change of administrations coming in January will be no different. But that uncertainty does not have to include fear for those immigrants in this country on visas such as H-4 EAD who are doing their best to maintain legal status.
Attorneys Rahul Reddy and Emily Neumann are partners at Reddy & Neumann, P.C., an immigration law firm in Houston, Texas representing corporate clients across the United States in their efforts to bring foreign workers and business professionals to the United States. Reddy & Neumann, P.C. is dedicated in its advocacy and community involvement efforts towards educating foreign nationals on immigration law and policy and achieving effective comprehensive immigration policy reform.
