AA Edit | Will Work Permit Move Help US?

US President Donald Trump’s decision to end the automatic extension of the validity of work permits — officially called employment authorisation documents (EAD) — is yet another move that is aimed at reducing jobs for immigrants in America. While every country has sovereign power to make its policies, the decision to end the automatic extension of EAD is one of several self-goals by Mr Trump since his re-election.

With elimination of the 540-day automatic extension, the Trump administration will force legally present workers to stop working the day their permits expire unless a new permit was granted in time. The most affected people will be those who have entered the US as the dependents of temporary immigrants such as H-4 spouses and Adjustment of Status (AOS) applicants waiting for green cards.

This decision may open up a few jobs for American citizens and help Mr Trump to gain an edge among his hardcore supporters, but it will cost businesses dearly. The employers will be staring at worker shortage from October 30 as the Trump administration sought to enforce the policy without any public notice or prior consultation.

The policy change will affect the Indian diaspora acutely. Roughly 100,000 Indian H-4 spouses could be exposed to job losses and career derailment. Dual-income families will have to plan for abrupt income gaps, upsetting their budgets and future planning.

In the Trump 2.0 rule, non-resident Indians legally working in the US and American citizens having Indian roots have been at the receiving end of the Republican administration’s xenophobic policies. The EAD decision will further force the Indian diaspora to return to the homeland, leading to a reversal of the brain drain that India has been experiencing for several decades. The Indian government should work as an earnest facilitator of such homecoming by creating a conducive atmosphere for the returnees.