A recent memo by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has brought a little cheer this holiday season to spouses of temporary workers in the United States.
The memo, dated December 5 2006, clarifies that the time spent as a dependent (on an H-4 or L-2 visa) of an H1B or L-1 visa holder will not count against the maximum allowable period of admission for H1B or L-1 workers. Instead, if the dependent gets an H1B or L-1 visa, he or she can work for six years.
"Everybody is happy about it," says immigration attorney Allen E Kaye.
He offers an example. Let's say a woman stays in the US as a dependent with her husband for five years, and wants to get a work permit. Earlier, she would have been allowed to work only for a year. "But now, you get six years because your H-4 time doesn't count," he says.
L-2 dependents who switch to L-1 status can stay in the US for a further maximum time of either five years (for specialized knowledge workers) or seven (for managers and executives).
Earlier, immigration regulations had set a more stringent standard on the maximum time in H or L status, whether as a worker or an employee.
The USCIS memo says from a policy perspective, this interpretation promotes family unity 'by affording each qualified spouse the opportunity to spend six years in H-1B status while allowing the other spouse to remain as an H-4 dependent and without undermining the Congressional intent to limit a principal alien's ability to work in a specialty occupation for six-year maximum period'.
At the end of the maximum period, as before, the person should either change to a different status (other than from H to L and vice versa) or leave the country.
The memo clarified that people who have finished the maximum time available on an H1B visa can apply for a seventh year extension even if s/he is not in the US or not on an H1B status despite being in the US.
Those who have been in the H1B status and have been abroad for more than a year now have the option of either coming to the US at any time to finish the remainder of the time under H1-B or queuing up for a new H1B so they can work another six years if they wish to.
The memo also discourages 'parking', wherein family members stay on in the US though the person on the work visa spends most of his or her time outside this country. The USCIS, the ports of entry and American consulates can all enforce the 'no parking' rule.
Routine travel is permitted, however, and dependents are not expected to leave the country each time the work visa holder does.
