H-1B Spouse Work Permits Don’t Harm American Jobs, DHS Says (1)

An Obama administration regulation granting work permits to the spouses of certain H-1B workers doesn’t directly increase job competition for U.S. workers in the tech industry, the Homeland Security Department says.

The agency made the argument to a federal appeals court in Washington in an attempt to get a lawsuit over the regulation thrown out for good. More than two years ago, a lower court said the U.S. workers who brought the case couldn’t show that the regulation harmed them in any way.

The DHS currently is working to undo the 2015 regulation, which grants the work permits to the ...