Report: Trump administration plans to halt work permits for H-1B spouses

• Approximately 100,000 spouses and children of H-1B visa holders come to the U.S. every year on a visa known as H-4.
• These workers were not able to work in the U.S. before 2015, when President Barack Obama created a work permit for some H-4 holders.
• Silicon Valley will be disproportionately affected, since many high-tech employers employ H-1B workers. Because of the region's high cost of living, It is difficult for a family to survive on one salary and, as a result, may not be able to stay in the country.
• A decision on the H-4 work authorization will likely come soon, immigration attorneys told The Chronicle.

Other efforts: Earlier this week, a House committee advanced Rep. Darrell Issa's bill to increase restrictions on how "H-1B dependent" companies can obtain the work permits for employees. Find details of Issa's bill here, and the Indian firms' lobbying efforts against crack downs on H-1B visas here.