Regulatory Agenda Includes Stripping Employment Eligibility From H-4 Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders, Other Actions

The Trump administration recently announced its spring 2019 regulatory agenda.

On the list for the Department of Homeland Security are proposals (not final yet), among others, to:

Revise the definition of “specialty occupation” to “increase focus on obtaining the best and the brightest” foreign nationals via the H-1B program, revise the definition of “employment” and “employer-employee relationship” to “better protect U.S. workers and wages,” and add requirements to “ensure employers pay appropriate wages to H-1B visa holders”
Increase monitoring and oversight of the EB-5 program and encourage investment in rural areas, including soliciting feedback on proposals for redefining components of the job creation requirement and defining conditions for regional center designations and operations
Remove employment eligibility for H-4 spouses of H-1B workers
Withdraw a regulatory provision stating that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must grant or deny an asylum applicant’s application for employment authorization within 30 days
“Promote greater accountability in the application process for requesting employment authorization and…deter the fraudulent filing of asylum applications for the purpose of obtaining Employment Authorization Documents”
Raise fees for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program