Today, a three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that a challenge to the H-4 EAD (Save Jobs USA v. DHS) does have grounds to be heard in court.
In September 2016, a DC-based United States District Court judge, Tanya S. Chutkan, ruled against Save Jobs USA. In her ruling, Judge Chutkan found that Save Jobs USA did not have the necessary legal requirements to file a claim in court (“standing”). Save Jobs USA is an organization representing unemployed tech workers who allege the H-4 EAD creates unfair competition in their industry.
Save Jobs USA appealed, and today a United States Court of Appeals found the judge had erred in her decision making. Senior Circuit Court Judge Laurence Silberman and Circuit Court Judge Thomas B. Griffith joined Judge David S. Tatel in a 3-0 opinion requiring that both sides re-argue the challenge to the H-4 EAD in the lower court.
With this favorable ruling for Save Jobs USA, the organization can again attempt to prove that the H-4 EAD should be struck down. If the H-4 EAD is found unlawful, approximately 100,000 women, mostly Indian nationals, who’ve been able to work in the United States since 2015 will have to stop their employment.