The EAD rule and H4 visa program have been at the center of a heated lawsuit, with the Trump administration citing the need to protect American workers. The DHS has filed a motion to hold the case in abeyance and DHS has also stated that it is in the regulatory process of repealing the H4 EAD rule. A notice of proposed rulemaking is expected to be published in February 2018. The DHS says that if the rule is ruled invalid, this court will hold a hearing to determine whether the rules can be replaced by regulation.
The H4 EAD Lawsuit has been filed against the DHS by Save Jobs USA and Immigration Voice, which questioned the government’s authority to remove the rule.
The Trump administration took over the lawsuit and moved to delay the process and remove the rule. This is in line with the Executive Order and is aimed at protecting US workers. The lawsuit claims that the EAD policy has caused “huge hardship” for thousands of Americans, and the H4 EAD rule has been the cause.
SAVE Jobs and other plaintiffs have filed a motion to halt the EAD rule indefinitely. In other words, they are asking the court to hold the case in abeyance until DHS proposes a rule for H4 EAD. This is a good start, but you should plan for a backup option in the meantime. In the meantime, you can find out more about the lawsuit’s status.
The case is currently in adjournment. Immigration Voice has filed a Reply Brief in the case.
The Immigration Voice has filed a separate document challenging the decision of the appeals court. It is expected that the judicial process will continue through the next several weeks. There is no SLA in the litigation, so expect it to take months. There are no deadlines for the filing of the final court order, but it will likely be resolved in a matter of weeks to a few months.
The H4 EAD lawsuit was filed by Save Jobs USA on January 19, 2019. This case challenged DHS’s authority to issue EADs for H4 dependent spouses. The Trump administration, however, has taken over and is delaying the process. While it has rescinded the rule, the EAD is still in effect for H4 dependent spouses. Although the lawsuit was filed in 2017, it is still in litigation.
As of January 16, the DHS has filed a Reply Brief. DHS has until March 15th to reply to the H4 EAD lawsuit.
In the meantime, Save Jobs USA will have to file a new brief on February 16. In addition, the DHS and Immigration Voice must file a Response Brief. After the first two filings, the RN Law group will need to file an appeal and then respond to the H4 EAD lawsuit.
In January, the Immigration Voice filed its Replacement Opening Brief with the court. This brief is 53 pages long and fixes references and acronyms. It does not change the arguments made by the group. It can be found at the H4 EAD lawsuit’s official court documents website. There’s no clear timeline for the removal of the H4 EAD rule. If this lawsuit is successful, the ruling will affect thousands of immigrants.
The H4 EAD Lawsuit is currently in an adjudication stage. The DHS has yet to file its reply.
The DHS has filed the Join status report in the Lawsuit. In the meantime, the DHS has not responded to the appeal. The legal team will need to wait for the appeal to be decided on the merits of the case. The court will decide whether to accept the rebuttal in the H4 EAD lawsuit.
While the case is still awaiting a decision, the court ordered the process to be suspended while the DHS drafted its rule. This decision is not final, but it may be delayed for a couple more weeks. Until then, the parties will continue to meet and the appeal will be decided by the DHS. The next hearing will be scheduled for Jan. 16th, 2020. While the appeals court does not rule on the merits of the appeal, it will be able to make an interpretation on the DHS’s H4 EAD and abide by its ruling.