Supreme Court Upholds H-4 EAD Rule
- achehrazi
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
On October 14, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court chose not to hear a case challenging a rule from the Obama administration that allows certain H-4 visa holders—spouses of H-1B workers—to apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).
This class of EAD is available only for H-4 visa holders whose H-1B spouse has an approved I-140 immigrant petition or approved H-1B extension beyond 6 years, and are waiting for their immigrant visa priority date to become “current”.
By declining to consider the appeal, the Supreme Court effectively left the rule in place, keeping it valid and enforceable.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had previously proposed repealing the rule during the first Trump administration, but that effort was never finalized. The proposal was later withdrawn under the Biden administration. However, DHS might still consider repealing the H-4 EAD rule in future.