H-4 Spouse EAD Lawsuit Preliminary Injunction Denied – Filings to Continue as Planned

In late April our office reported on the lawsuit challenging the H-4 Spouse EAD program and we have been monitoring the case over the past few weeks and especially since Thursday of last week when there was a hearing here in Washington, DC on the merits of the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction aiming to stop the H-4 Spouse EAD program.    We are happy to report that Judge Chutkan has denied the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the H-4 Spouse EAD program.

Judge Chutkan’s Opinion

The opinion finds that the plaintiffs have failed to show that they will suffer irreparable harm if the H-4 Spouse EAD rule will become into effect.     Judge Chutkan reasons that, “At this stage, it is entirely speculative whether any H-4 visa holders will ever apply for IT jobs at [the former employer of one of the plaintiffs], IT jobs in California (where the members of Save Jobs reside), or IT jobs at all.”   As a result, the judge concludes that the standard for irreparable harm during a preliminary injunction is not met.

Additionally, the judge discusses that the alleged losses are highly speculative and that they “are not great enough to warrant the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction.”     Finally, the judge finds that there is no imminent harm from the H-4 Spouse EAD rule becoming effective because the H-4 EAD application process is likely to take months and then the H-4 EAD holders may take more time to look for and find jobs.

H-4 Spouse EAD Program Continues on Track (Even Though Lawsuit Remains)

Our office has monitored closely this lawsuit from the time it was filed and we had a fair amount of confidence that the preliminary injunction is unlikely to be granted.     We would like to caution that the fact that the preliminary injunction was denied does not make the lawsuit go away.   The lawsuit continues to remain pending and until the lawsuit is withdrawn or dismissed, the challenge against the H-4 Spouse EAD rule remains in place.

We will continue to provide information on this rule and the pending lawsuit  as soon as we have anything to share.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can review your case, answer any questions or schedule a consultation.   We also invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.    We can also provide a quote for the attorney service for filing the H-4 Spouse EAD.