Indian spouses were losing jobs because of H4 delays so we decided to go to court

FOR THE RECORD

Indian spouses were losing jobs because of H4 delays so we decided to go to court

For spouses of H1B visa holders, the American dream wasn’t all rosy. Not only did they need employment authorisation to work in the US, but it had to be renewed every two years with the process taking months or even a year. After a brush with this system, an Indian-origin couple from Canada decided to take the matter to court and won a landmark settlement agreement. Amandeep Shergill, lead plaintiff in the Shergill vs Mayorkas lawsuit, and her husband Ripan Shergill spoke to Sonam Joshi about why they took up this battle

Can you tell us about your journey from Punjab to Canada and now Seattle?

Ripan: I studied at Panjab University and moved to Canada in 2001 as a permanent resident. We got married in 2003 and settled in Toronto. In 2015, we relocated to Seattle as Canadian citizens. US law is brutal and archaic, it only considers your country of birth. So, though we are Canadian citizens, we had to join the Indian immigration queue. We never thought being on H1B would be so stressful. Every three years, you have to renew it. I changed multiple companies and every time, you don’t know who is adjudicating your visa renewal. Someone in a cranky mood could find some technicality to deny your visa. My son is in 12th grade. In the last four years, every time this paperwork renewal came, we’d have a conversation about whether he’d be going to the same school next year, or whether we’d be moving lock stock and barrel. Every Indian American can relate to that situation.

Aman, what were the challenges you faced as a spouse on an H4 visa?

Aman: I have a MSc degree from Punjabi University. In Canada, I was working fulltime as a teacher but here an H1B spouse can only work if the employer sponsors a green card. It was very frustrating to stay at home doing nothing. I had even taken classes and got my license to work as a realtor. It took two years but in 2017, his employer did that and I got the H-4 Employment Authorisation Document (EAD) or work permit. But that wasn’t the end of it.

How did the pandemic impact your EAD?

Aman: The Trump administration had made it harder for immigrants. Then Covid happened, and everything was backlogged. A process that used to take two to four months started taking six to twelve months. So many others too were in the same boat, forced to give up their full-time jobs and stay home. I was upset because I was doing very well and had 20-30 clients that I had to give up because I couldn’t work for 25 days till the EAD came through. It is so unfair because all other visas have automatic extension.

What prompted you to file a lawsuit?

Ripan: For Aman, the EAD delay was only 25 days but we still wanted to proceed, so no one else has to go through this mess. There is no reason for USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) to sit on an application that just takes two minutes to approve. As Canadian citizens, it’s easy for us to renew our H4 visa. All we have to do is drive across the border, make a U-turn to return and get the stamp. That’s not a privilege those holding Indian passports have. In the end, litigation was the only way because you have to fight for your rights.

Who were the other plaintiffs?

Ripan: It was just 15 of us who connected on a WhatsApp group to share our experiences. Around 13 were Indian, one was Polish, and we were Canadian. Some women were on the brink of losing their jobs, some had lost their jobs waiting for the EAD to come through. The case was filed under Aman’s name. When we were told they want to settle, we decided to expand the benefit into a class action that solves a bigger problem for everybody, and gets rid of this nonsense of making people wait, lose their jobs and create upheaval in their lives.

Tell us how this settlement changes lives and the challenges ahead?

Any Indian H4 spouse born in India and applying for a standalone H4 will benefit from this settlement. Apart from H4, many Indian IT companies send their executives on L2 visas. Their spouses are the biggest winners as they are authorised to work from the day they land in the US. Prior to this, they had to apply and wait. But the fight isn’t over for the larger Indian diaspora. Common sense reform needs to happen. When this H4 benefit was initially bestowed in 2015, H4s and H1Bs were adjudicated immediately at the same time. Then came Trump with his hardline approach separating the two applicants. This was just red tape introduced to discourage Indian professionals, because largely H1Bs are from India. Should the Biden Administration go back to adjudicating H4 applications concurrently with H1Bs in a 15-day timeframe — as it was before the Trump administration — it will solve a problem for all Indian H4 spouses.