Tech majors urge Trump administration to keep work permits for H-1B spouses

Tech companies have relied on H-1B visas to hire foreign talent, particularly in fields of science, tech, engineering, maths

Business and tech industry groups — representing Amazon.com Inc., Google, Visa Inc. and other companies — are urging the Trump administration not to halt work authorisations for spouses of immigrants who have specialty worker H-1B visas and are seeking permanent residency.

The request, in a letter late Wednesday, comes as the Department of Homeland Security plans to issue a proposal to remove the work eligibility of these spouses of H-1B holders, according to its Fall 2017 agenda. The industry groups said they expect the move next month. It would be one of the agency’s early steps to regulate high-skilled immigration