Judge Denied Motion for Preliminary Injunction in H-4 EAD Rule Lawsuit
On 24 May, 2015, Judge Tanya Chutkan of the Federal District Court in the District of Columbia denied the plaintfiff's motion for preliminary injunction against H-4 EAD rule. The USCIS can comfortably implement the H-4 EAD program beginning from May 26, 2015.
Technology workers who say they lost their jobs to immigrant workers lost their bid to halt President Obama’s latest guest-worker program after a court ruled Sunday evening that they couldn’t prove the new workers would specifically compete with them.
Federal District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan’s ruling means Mr. Obama’s controversial program can go into effect Tuesday as planned.
Under the program, legal guest-workers’ spouses, who now are generally barred from working, will be allowed to apply for work permits, giving them the chance to win jobs.
Judge Chutkan wrote in the 12-page ruling that the damage to the technology workers, organized as Save Jobs USA, was “highly speculative.”
“Save Jobs does not explain how many IT jobs may be taken by H-4 visa holders, how many of those jobs its members may have sought themselves, what pay or benefits its members risk losing while the case is pending, or what other harm its members may face,” the judge wrote. “The court is left to speculate as to the magnitude of the injury, and speculation is not enough to turn economic loss into irreparable harm.”
The H-4 visa is given to dependents of H-1B visa holders, who are sought-after high-skilled workers. Immigrant rights advocates have long sought the change, arguing that it’s unfair to restrict legal workers’ spouses from also getting jobs.
The Obama administration said allowing the spouses to work will help entice the best H-1B applicants from around the world. Officials expect about 179,000 people to be eligible the first year, and 55,000 a year after that.
