Full DC Circuit Hearing Denied for H-1B Spouse Work Permit Suit

An appeals court has shot down an en banc rehearing request Friday for a decision upholding the employment authorization of spouses of H-1B visa holders.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in August ruled that the Department of Homeland Security had authority to extend work eligibility to spouses of immigrant workers. A three-judge panel reasoned that a similar dispute involving employment authorization for international college graduates had already been decided in the agency’s favor and that the cases weren’t meaningfully different.

Save Jobs USA, which challenged the rule, asked for a review of the decision by the full DC Circuit with backing from America First Legal Foundation. The Donald Trump-aligned legal advocacy group has sought to rollback immigration benefits in court, including a successful challenge to the Biden administration’s parole-in-place initiative for unauthorized spouses of US citizens.

The group’s president, former White House adviser Stephen Miller, has been named deputy chief of staff for policy in the incoming Trump administration.

Business groups like the US Chamber of Commerce and major corporate employers including Apple Inc. have argued that preserving work authorization for some 90,000 spouses on H-4 dependent visas is crucial to help recruit and retain highly-skilled foreign workers.

A Nov. 22 order from the DC Circuit noted that no member of the court had asked for a vote on the request for rehearing.

An attorney for Save Jobs USA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Save Jobs USA v. DHS, D.C. Cir., No. 23-05089, en banc rehearing denied 11/22/24.